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An extension of the permit for these two Mystic whales is routine and arbitrary. In theory they could revisit the breeding ban as part of a new permit but would seem entirely unlikely they'd be exported back to Canada. At the time, I would have presumed those five to be the last import of belugas given the breeding restrictions, the three subsequent casualties, and NOAAs inquiry after the deaths. But these are different times now, so it could be entirely possible permits are filed to import or, given the absolute upheaval occuring at NOAA, a permit is submitted but simply not acted on by the Agency.

As for any Asia import - Canada would have to issue an export permit. Given their cetacean welfare law that was enacted, I believe there are considerations they'd have to make on suitable locations before granting a permit for that too. The burden would be on the receiving facility to prove it meets Canadian animal welfare standards which is probably a difficult task for many marine parks in China at least.

Of course there are sanctuaries that in theory could take them - Iceland and Nova Scotia, but the former continues to have difficulties and the latter isn't operational yet.

They really are kinda stuck in this limbo unfortunately.
Emergency import permits have been issued for animals to come into the US before. Not sure the last cetacean one that was issued though, may have been Tillikum, orca imported from Canada.
I hope we all end up surprised. But the US seems to be struggling with emergency moves even within the US (GulfWorld in Florida right now).
 
Emergency import permits have been issued for animals to come into the US before. Not sure the last cetacean one that was issued though, may have been Tillikum, orca imported from Canada.
I hope we all end up surprised. But the US seems to be struggling with emergency moves even within the US (GulfWorld in Florida right now).

Forgot that was also an option. I'm hoping to be surprised too, but I can tell you as a current Fed - nothing is getting done at any scientific agency - even routine, non-controversial items.
 
Emergency import permits have been issued for animals to come into the US before. Not sure the last cetacean one that was issued though, may have been Tillikum, orca imported from Canada.
I hope we all end up surprised. But the US seems to be struggling with emergency moves even within the US (GulfWorld in Florida right now).

The captive born belugas could easily be split among the current beluga holders, perhaps expanding the Mystic permit to include them?

If Merlin decides to actually back the sanctuary more financially versus donations- then I can see several female belugas headed there.
With the recent emergency moves too ~ does bring up the question if the Rough Tooth’s are headed to Clearwater, which questions rehoming of Greece’s and hypothetically Canada’s dolphins

And with the numbers- Switch the seal and sealion numbers and it’ll be correct. The Cali SL’s are all from SeaWorld Orlando (the Ikaika/beluga arrangement) while the seals are rescues, excluding Baby and Larry - who were born in 2000s at the now closed Storybook Gardens.

The penguins, I have reason to believe they already returned to their US zoos/aquariums.
But in summary, I wish we all knew more information that could be provided.
 
Of course there are sanctuaries that in theory could take them - Iceland

The Icelandic sanctuary is tiny (It's just Keiko's old sea pen), and the two Beluga currently in residence don't even live in it full-time because they have consistently failed to acclimate to the Icelandic waters. They live in a small man-made pool nearby, instead. Both Beluga are wild-caught, by the way.

Edit: The maximum capacity for this sanctuary is eight Beluga.

Of course there are sanctuaries that in theory could take them - Nova Scotia

The Nova Scotia sanctuary should be viewed as little more then a scam than a viable option, IMHO. It's been proposed for years, but construction on it hasn't even begun on it yet.

And likely never will, considering the site is contaminated with heavy metals (Because it was previously used as a dump site for tailings from a nearby gold mine), so it can't pass the environmental assessments that the Canadian government requires in order to grant construction permits in the first place.
 
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The Icelandic sanctuary is tiny (It's just Keiko's old sea pen), and the two Beluga currently in residence don't even live in it full-time because they have consistently failed to acclimate to the Icelandic waters. They live in a small man-made pool nearby, instead. Both Beluga are wild-caught, by the way.

Edit: The maximum capacity for this sanctuary is eight Beluga.



The Nova Scotia sanctuary should be viewed as little more then a scam than a viable option, IMHO. It's been proposed for years, but construction on it hasn't even begun on it yet.

And likely never will, considering the site is contaminated with heavy metals (Because it was previously used as a dump site for tailings from a nearby gold mine), so it can't pass the environmental assessments that the Canadian government requires in order to grant construction permits in the first place.

I'm aware of both situations and did not want to diverge from the main topic of Marineland news. Public officials and animal rights organizations will most certainly advocate and/or consider these two options nonetheless for the whales
 
Any locals have any updates? Have seen reports of another beluga death likely (presumed male) this summer. Have not seen any reports of permits for import to US, leaves one to assume exports from Canada will be to Asia.
 
Any locals have any updates? Have seen reports of another beluga death likely (presumed male) this summer. Have not seen any reports of permits for import to US, leaves one to assume exports from Canada will be to Asia.

I've been checking regs.gov weekly. It does take time for the permits to be processed and posted, but you're probably right unfortunately on their ultimate destination to Asia
 
Some interesting pieces:
  • there's been no export permit issued by Fisheries Canada for Marineland.
  • Doug Ford (the Premier of Ontario) apparently is directly involved/interested in the situation
  • The articles mentions the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China - but the article doesn't elaborate further as to why this facility has been named
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/niagara-falls-seal-beluga-death-1.7624837
 
Marineland has filed permit asking to export belugas, appears Chinese park may be purchasing the belugas. Unfortunate, but expected. I was really hoping to see some last minute surprise import to the US. Wishful thinking no doubt.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/marineland-export-permission-belugas-1.7640593
The permit was denied by the Canadian government. The future of the whales seems in limbo as Marineland runs out of funds to care for belugas and other animals remaining.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/marineland-belugas-export-denied-1.7647908
 
The permit was denied by the Canadian government. The future of the whales seems in limbo as Marineland runs out of funds to care for belugas and other animals remaining.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/marineland-belugas-export-denied-1.7647908

"The source said Marineland is going to hand the whales over to the government to be euthanized. They aren't sure yet if the provincial or federal government will be responsible for them."

"We are not going to have these whales and we will not be the ones to euthanize them," the source said. "The [federal] minister said she didn't want them to be held in captivity, but now they're going to die."

From the article.
 
AZA could step in here - point to the successful acclimation of previous Marineland belugas in accredited facilities and the space available. Point to the research conducted on captive counterparts and the direct knowledge which assisted the Alaska Sea Life Center rescue a few years back. Could easily concede breeding rights in any permit, similar to what Mystic recently did and deal with that issue later.

If I was Dan Ashe, I'd be on the phone with the four beluga holders and hammer out a quick plan. You get the CEO of Georgia on the phone to NOAA to start greasing the wheels on an emergency permit.

A few articles I read mentioned that US based facilities would be an alternative. Surprised the Icelandic beluga sanctuary hasn't been named in the press yet
 
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The article's final sentence mentions the concept of Marineland transforming into what amounts to a palliative care or geriatric facility, perhaps run by the government or a nonprofit, which is a perfectly fine compromise to me. What that should entail is swift removal of any young belugas to facilities more able to care for them at that age and not explicitly devoted to breeding or shows, i.e. Georgia, Mystic, etc. It also certainly could entail the sanctuary off Nova Scotia eventually being completed and providing a better long-term home for these or other whales, an outcome more or less independent of all others. All of this would result in the Marineland tank (which honestly looks fairly passable to me, but certainly not 30 whales-passable) being used for a smaller population and giving all of them more space.

I think that should satisfy all parties involved, but unfortunately politically there are rarely such good compromises.
 
It also certainly could entail the sanctuary off Nova Scotia eventually being completed and providing a better long-term home for these or other whales, an outcome more or less independent of all others.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is little more than a scam IMHO. Nothing has been built and likely never will be built because none of the surrounding landowners have given permission for the WSP to go ahead.

And even if that weren't the case, the proposed sanctuary still wouldn't be viable because the bay it would be situated in has severe heavy metal contamination due to having been the dumping group for tailings for a gold mine. You literally can't fish there because the fish themselves aren't safe to eat!
 
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