Six Belugas Die Following Relocation From Marineland

Six of the 30 belugas transferred from the now-closed Marineland theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont., have died, as CBC Toronto first reported. The deaths occurred after a mass relocation effort over the summer that moved the animals to facilities in Spain and the U.S. to avoid euthanasia.

SeaWorld San Diego announced the death of a beluga named Cyprus on Oct. 18. Other deaths occurred at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and SeaWorld facilities in San Antonio, Texas, and Oceanogràfic València in Spain. The Shedd Aquarium reported that post-mortem results for two belugas showed the animals were already suffering from "significant gastrointestinal disease."

Speaking to CBC Toronto, Dr. Doug Whiteside — head veterinarian at the Calgary Zoo and a member of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's animal welfare committee — stated that conditions at Marineland had already left the whales under chronic stress. He noted that while international regulations were followed, the acute stress of transfer may have pushed some animals "over the edge."

Advocacy groups, including Animal Justice, have asserted that Marineland and the provincial and federal governments failed to properly plan for the animals' futures. Conversely, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans maintains the transfers represented the best possible rescue plan, as marine experts noted that releasing the captive-raised mammals into the wild would lead to certain death and no North American seaside sanctuaries were currently available.