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I suggested the Vancouver Aquarium in the beluga population thread, but I will repeat because it seems to me to be the best solution for any whales that Mystic, Shedd, and the SW parks lack the capacity to rescue.

The former dolphin/orca pool is quite deep and nearly 10 thousand square feet, more than double that of the former beluga tank which now houses sea lions. It is currently housing a couple of harbor seals, which could either be cohabitated with the fur seals or sea lions as they have done in the past, or sent to other facilities to facilitate the rescue of some of these whales.

Of course this is all dependent on Vancouver having the funds available, and deciding to reverse the previous commitment to no longer hold cetaceans. Considering the dire circumstances however, that would surely be the ethical decision to make.

If someone here has visited both Minnesota and Vancouver and wants to chime in on how the tanks compare I would love to hear. The pictures of Minnesota certainly look significantly smaller, but it being indoors I cant be sure.
 
DelacoursLangur said:
I suggested the Vancouver Aquarium in the beluga population thread, but I will repeat because it seems to me to be the best solution for any whales that Mystic, Shedd, and the SW parks lack the capacity to rescue...Of course this is all dependent on Vancouver...deciding to reverse the previous commitment to no longer hold cetaceans. Considering the dire circumstances however, that would surely be the ethical decision to make.
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The problem is, it's not just a non-binding "commitment" by the Aquarium that must be contended with. A significant reason this is even happening at all is the recent Canadian ban on cetacean captivity. All existing cetaceans were grandfathered in, so Marineland was allowed to continue to exist (though with many more eyes upon it), but it seems clear that the government has no interest in tolerating that any longer especially as Marineland has gone under financially. By 2019 almost all of Vancouver's cetaceans were either deceased or extremely geriatric; Helen, the last Pacific white-sided dolphin there, stayed for two years before she was transferred in 2021 to be with others of her species, and then died in 2022 at SeaWorld San Antonio. It's hard to say whether the provincial or federal governments would allow the existing Marineland belugas or dolphins to be moved to Vancouver despite its AZA status, especially given that they seemingly would not allow any companionship for Helen from another park for example.

I do think that it's a fair theoretical solution, I just worry the current climate in Canada would preclude it. I do think, however, that the US parks and aquaria could and likely will take all the young whales in. After that, perhaps, Vancouver could step in and offer themselves as a home for the elderly whales rather than them living at a defunct park with a skeleton crew caring for them (whose funding would have to somehow be sourced, a whole other problem in and of itself). Of course you then have to get into whether Vancouver itself has the money, but at barest minimum they probably have the space as you said.
 
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Zorro said:
Perhaps the marine mammal holders gave in too easily to the woke animal rights groups?, elephants are likely next on the list for the AR groups and then great apes!
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I don't understand how this has anything to do with this thread at all (not to mention you're just repeating a past message of yours). And the holders didn't "give in" to anything - a federal law was passed and they complied with it, full stop.
 
Local_Shark said:
The problem is, it's not just a non-binding "commitment" by the Aquarium that must be contended with. A significant reason this is even happening at all is the recent Canadian ban on cetacean captivity. All existing cetaceans were grandfathered in, so Marineland was allowed to continue to exist (though with many more eyes upon it), but it seems clear that the government has no interest in tolerating that any longer especially as Marineland has gone under financially. By 2019 almost all of Vancouver's cetaceans were either deceased or extremely geriatric; Helen, the last Pacific white-sided dolphin there, stayed for two years before she was transferred in 2021 to be with others of her species, and then died in 2022 at SeaWorld San Antonio. It's hard to say whether the provincial or federal governments would allow the existing Marineland belugas or dolphins to be moved to Vancouver despite its AZA status, especially given that they seemingly would not allow any companionship for Helen from another park for example.

I do think that it's a fair theoretical solution, I just worry the current climate in Canada would preclude it. I do think, however, that the US parks and aquaria could and likely will take all the young whales in. After that, perhaps, Vancouver could step in and offer themselves as a home for the elderly whales rather than them living at a defunct park with a skeleton crew caring for them (whose funding would have to somehow be sourced, a whole other problem in and of itself). Of course you then have to get into whether Vancouver itself has the money, but at barest minimum they probably have the space as you said.
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I would certainly prefer the young whales with breeding potential to go the the states regardless. But for the remaining elderly whales it seems the best solution. Did they make an active effort to bring in a companion for Helen?
 
As long as Canada has a ban on keeping marine mammals in captivity, there is no reason or incentive for any other Canadian facility to accept these animals without some level of government or popular support, - and indeed, if the government's official position is that captivity is unethical, it does become hard to justify an export, although I still believe it is possible and in the animal's best interest. This leaves almost no options besides a release to the wild of some kind.

I hope something can be worked out in the best interests of the animals, and I hope any future laws of this kind can make more allowances for emergency situations like this and that at Marineland of the Antibes. Keeping these animals in human care without public display doesn't seem like an improvement in their welfare and a lose-lose solution for all involved, and the impossibility of exporting them in both cases is increasing the risk of harm.
 
DelacoursLangur said:
I would certainly prefer the young whales with breeding potential to go the the states regardless. But for the remaining elderly whales it seems the best solution. Did they make an active effort to bring in a companion for Helen?
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I don’t think any serious attempt was made almost purely because of the law, and that’s the core issue with your proposal I imagine. I agree with @JVM - it feels very unlikely that any such thing will occur without the public essentially saying “we’re okay with this, if it has to be done to save these animals and give them good quality of life.”
 
Local_Shark said:
I don’t think any serious attempt was made almost purely because of the law, and that’s the core issue with your proposal I imagine. I agree with @JVM - it feels very unlikely that any such thing will occur without the public essentially saying “we’re okay with this, if it has to be done to save these animals and give them good quality of life.”
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I never thought it was a likely outcome, just theorizing what the ideal solution would be from a purely animal welfare oriented perspective. Marineland is crumbling and desperate to the point of publicly threatening euthanasia. And from the wording of the announcement, it sounds like the current US holders aren't able nor interested in taking in all 30...

China and the AZA are the only options, and China isn't likely to try again after this rejection. The idea of any sort of sanctuary or wild release program is an exorbitantly expensive pipe dream. It seems to me the most likely decision will be the politically safest one, no decision, the whales stay put.
 
Was it ever found out what happened to the non-aquatic mammals that were still at the park such as the bears and deer?
 
The Mystic permit stipulates that at the conclusion of the research permit (which expired August 2025), disposition can not occur without approval of the National Marine Fisheries Service - including any transfers to Georgia Aquarium. The Aquarium is not authorized to transfer the remaining two whales to any other beluga holders.

There's no mention of breeding under the Disposition clause. Since the permit was approved as a research permit, the whales, being a descendent of a 'depleted stock' can only be imported for scientific purposes - not public display. The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits import of depleted marine mammals for public display. What remains unclear, based on the logical outgrowth of the Agency comments and the law, is: are these whales no longer covered under the conditions of the scientific research permit? Since this permit has expired, these whales could now be considered on 'public display' and therefore not privy to any conditions and therefore the breeding restrictions.

Canadian restrictions on breeding could occur as part of any export permit, but ultimately, it would be up to the NMFS to determine any restrictions for an import permit as the animals would be under US jurisdiction.

I'm quite curious to see if and what AZA attempts to submit. The language and rationale would need to address a whole host of issues, specifically those that famously plagued Georgia's permit in 2012 and altered Mystic's in 2020.

I guess we'll see what happens.
 
NAIB Volunteer said:
The Mystic permit stipulates that at the conclusion of the research permit (which expired August 2025), disposition can not occur without approval of the National Marine Fisheries Service - including any transfers to Georgia Aquarium. The Aquarium is not authorized to transfer the remaining two whales to any other beluga holders.

There's no mention of breeding under the Disposition clause. Since the permit was approved as a research permit, the whales, being a descendent of a 'depleted stock' can only be imported for scientific purposes - not public display. The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits import of depleted marine mammals for public display. What remains unclear, based on the logical outgrowth of the Agency comments and the law, is: are these whales no longer covered under the conditions of the scientific research permit? Since this permit has expired, these whales could now be considered on 'public display' and therefore not privy to any conditions and therefore the breeding restrictions.

Canadian restrictions on breeding could occur as part of any export permit, but ultimately, it would be up to the NMFS to determine any restrictions for an import permit as the animals would be under US jurisdiction.

I'm quite curious to see if and what AZA attempts to submit. The language and rationale would need to address a whole host of issues, specifically those that famously plagued Georgia's permit in 2012 and altered Mystic's in 2020.

I guess we'll see what happens.
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Last I checked due to the new material- the permit got extended by a year due to missed research.
If it were expired, since 2 months , both Sahara and Jetta would’ve also been featured on their socials by now.

The aquariums can always cite the new lysomal storage disease research that Mystic Aquarium is undertaking, which requires access to Marineland whales.
And they probably might impose a breeding restriction, for the first year at least , as the whales settle into their new pods (and to appease Canada )
 
Aelita said:
Last I checked due to the new material- the permit got extended by a year due to missed research.
If it were expired, since 2 months , both Sahara and Jetta would’ve also been featured on their socials by now.

The aquariums can always cite the new lysomal storage disease research that Mystic Aquarium is undertaking, which requires access to Marineland whales.
And they probably might impose a breeding restriction, for the first year at least , as the whales settle into their new pods (and to appease Canada )
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I guess I did miss that it states that 'all research has been suspended' but I thought any investigation had concluded and cleared Mystic of wrongdoing? Perhaps not. NOAAs website was last updated in 2024, but I see no mention of a permit extension either.

Permit to Import 5 Beluga Whales for Scientific Research (File No. 22629, Mystic Aquarium)

Regardless, this is a Marineland thread so, like I said, hopefully there is some news shortly on their eventual move.
 
I don't know if this would be worth a try or just a fruitless endeavor, but there's this big YouTube channel called Bright Sun Films a that did a video on Marineland where he basically called it the worst theme park in America...



however, with both his and his massive following, maybe some of us could comment on his latest Marineland video (he made a second MarineLand video a few months ago that's newer) or just on one of his latest videos period, summarize the situation, and just let him know that the remaining whales and species are being threatened with being euthanatized due to the park's closure. Maybe someone's comment can garner a lot of likes and get some attention, or better yet if the YouTuber can make a video addressing the situation, maybe him and hos following can start a last minute petition or at least spread awareness or find someone to contact over this situation.

I'm guessing that now it may be too late for spreading awareness, but still might be better than doing nothing.
 
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