NIAGARA FALLS—Animal Justice is deeply disappointed by the Niagara Falls Committee of Adjustment’s decision to approve Marineland’s application for a temporary land severance without fully examining the implications for the animals living there.
Since late 2019, at least 18 beluga whales, a killer whale, and a dolphin have died at Marineland. While the park claims the loan will help fund the relocation of the surviving animals, there are no assurances they will be moved to appropriate facilities.
Marineland sought permission to carve up its land into multiple parcels to secure a bridge loan, which it claims is necessary to cover the cost of “expeditiously” relocating its marine animals. However, the proposal lacked key details about where the animals will go, how their transport will comply with federal laws (which prohibit whale export except under narrow conditions), and whether the financing deal could put the animals at greater risk.
Tellingly, the severance scheme allows Marineland to offer up large swaths of its property as collateral while leaving out the section where animals are housed allowing the financier to avoid the risk of taking responsibility for the animals in the event of a default.
Animal Justice lawyer Ben Delanghe urged committee members to defer the decision until these outstanding questions were answered. He noted that moving marine animals—especially whales—falls under federal jurisdiction and requires extensive permitting.
Marineland did not reveal to committee members whether it had sought these permits or how the proposed loan would cover the complex and costly process of relocation. Despite these potentially disastrous unknowns, the committee approved the severance without requiring Marineland to clarify its plans.
“This plan is supposedly meant to help the animals, but the uncertainty surrounding it could place them in further jeopardy,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director at Animal Justice. “The committee had an opportunity to get concrete answers about the future of Marineland’s animals, and they chose not to take it. The public should know whether these animals will be moved safely and legally, or if they’re at risk of being sold off to other facilities. The whales and dolphins at Marineland deserve better than to be put on display in a tiny tank in another country, and we are calling on provincial and federal governments to intervene to protect them.”
While the committee altered the severance condition to prevent individual lot sales while allowing individual mortgages, it still leaves serious concerns about whether the lender could sell off the land separately if Marineland is unable to pay back the loans.
“If the park defaults and these parcels are sold off, it would represent a major loss for the city of Niagara Falls and further deprive Marineland of the capital needed to sustain itself and more critically, to improve the welfare of the animals it has exploited for so many years,” Ms. Labchuk said.
Contact:
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager
jlynn@animaljustice.ca
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
camille@animaljustice.ca
The post Marineland’s Risky Loan Scheme Could Put Animals in Greater Peril appeared first on Animal Justice.
