As More Canadian Belugas Arrive at SeaWorld San Antonio, Animal Justice Calls for Public No-Breeding Commitment
SAN ANTONIO—As SeaWorld San Antonio receives another seven beluga whales from Canada’s Marineland this week, bringing the park’s total to nine of the 30 whales who could be moved to U.S. aquariums, Canada’s leading national animal law organization, Animal Justice, is calling on SeaWorld to make a clear, public commitment that none of these whales will ever be bred.
The heartbreaking plight of these whales, who were either snatched from the wild or irresponsibly bred and exploited at Marineland, helped inspire Canadian lawmakers to pass groundbreaking legislation in 2019 banning whale and dolphin captivity, also critically outlawing their use in entertainment and breeding.
Marineland had years to plan for these whales’ future and failed to do so, leaving them to languish in tanks where 19 beluga whales, one orca, and a dolphin have died since 2019. A seaside sanctuary, like the one being built in Nova Scotia, could have offered these whales a real retirement with proper support and funding.
When the federal government blocked a proposed transfer to China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom last year, Marineland threatened to kill all 30 remaining beluga whales. The unfortunate reality is that due to inaction, and in light of Marineland’s threats, the whales’ relocation to U.S. aquariums is likely the best outcome currently available.
However, it appears the Canadian government export permits allowing the transfer of Marineland’s belugas to SeaWorld and other U.S. aquariums were issued without no-breeding conditions, which flies in the face of the government’s own export policy.
“SeaWorld can prove this is purely a rescue, not also a backdoor way to replenish its breeding stock, by ruling out breeding these animals right now, much like it did for orcas in 2016,” said Alexandra Pester, senior staff lawyer at Animal Justice.
“These whales have already endured a lifetime of confinement and exploitation. They should not be used to produce another generation of captive whales destined to spend their lives in tanks instead of the ocean.”
Animal Justice is urging SeaWorld San Antonio and any other facility receiving Marineland’s belugas to publicly pledge that the whales will not be used in any breeding program. In the wild, belugas can live for decades, travel thousands of miles, and form deep social bonds, the kind of life no tank can replicate.
“Canada passed a law in 2019 meant to ensure these whales would be the last generation of belugas to endure captivity. We owe it to these whales to make sure that promise doesn’t end at the border,” said Ms. Pester.
“And if SeaWorld declines to do the right thing, it may be up to people of Texas to urge their state lawmakers to follow in Canada’s footsteps and change the law to ensure these whales get the protections they deserve.”
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