20 Deaths Later, Controversial Theme Park Offers Update on Future
The gates of Marineland of Canada have been locked to guests since last summer, with its property in Niagara Falls quietly placed on the market. Yet even with the park effectively shuttered, its most pressing legacy issue remains very much alive — the fate of its remaining animals.
For decades, Marineland was marketed as a hybrid attraction, blending aquariums, thrill rides, and marine mammal performances. The model proved profitable at its peak, but over the past decade, public attitudes have shifted sharply. Increasingly, critics have described whale and dolphin shows as relics of a different era.
That cultural reckoning was accelerated by the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which detailed conditions at SeaWorld and sparked international scrutiny of cetacean captivity. Marineland, already facing local opposition and government inspections, found itself under a harsher spotlight. By the mid-2020s, the park’s reputation had changed beyond recognition.
Theme Park Confirms Fate of 30 Beluga Whales
According to reporting from the CBC, Marineland has now applied to export all 30 of its remaining beluga whales. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a theme park in China, has confirmed interest in acquiring them. The transaction, however, cannot move forward without approval from Canada’s minister of fisheries.
The application follows a troubling series of deaths inside Marineland’s tanks. Since 2019, 19 belugas have died, part of a wider wave of fatalities that has fueled activist concerns and official scrutiny. Ontario’s Solicitor General’s Office has confirmed that inspectors visited the park more than 220 times between 2020 and 2023 to monitor animal welfare.
Until recently, Marineland still housed orcas and walruses. Kiska, its last surviving orca, died of a bacterial infection in 2023.
Former employees and advocacy groups have long accused Marineland of systemic neglect. In 2021, provincial officials ordered the park to improve its water systems. The company rejected claims that water issues played a role in beluga deaths. Still, high-profile incidents, such as the reported drowning of a whale in 1992 and the death of an orca named Kanuck in an indoor pool known as “the warehouse,” continue to shape the park’s public image.
Animal Rights Pushback
News of a potential export has drawn swift condemnation from World Animal Protection Canada. “Belugas are not commodities. The risk of them being auctioned off to the highest bidder—possibly shipped overseas to facilities with equally low standards and continually bred for the animal entertainment industry—is real, and it’s unacceptable,” said executive director Colin Saravanamuttoo.
The group has urged the federal government to accelerate development of a planned seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia, which could provide retirement housing for belugas and other former captive whales. It has also called on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to clarify the province’s oversight role in monitoring Marineland’s remaining animals.
Marineland’s decline coincided with broader legal and cultural changes. In 2019, Canada passed Bill S-203, which banned the breeding or public display of cetaceans for entertainment. That same year, beluga deaths began mounting inside Marineland’s tanks.
Today, Marineland continues to describe itself online as an aquarium, zoo, and amusement park with a commitment to conservation. Its critics remain unconvinced, pointing to years of animal deaths and persistent questions about care.
The government’s decision on Marineland’s export application will shape the outcome. For now, 30 belugas remain confined at Niagara Falls, their future dependent on whether Ottawa approves a transfer abroad or pursues domestic alternatives.
Have you ever visited Marineland of Canada?
