It is reported that MarineLand located in Niagara Falls, Canada has now officially registered to lobby the Canadian government with a view to selling the park, something that was rumoured previously in late 2021.
MarineLand has been subjected to several investigations over the years. In 2021 a charge of animal cruelty was made for allegedly using dolphins and their one remaining orca for entertainment, which was banned in Canada in 2019 under federal law. MarineLand denied this charge saying the shows are educational and not entertainment. In the same year, the park also moved five beluga whales to Mystic Aquarium, Connecticut where one whale died within months of the move and a second in February 2022, again these deaths were subject to investigation. The park has also been involved in a long-term case regarding their two walruses Smooshi and her offspring Koyuk who are due to be moved in March this year to an undisclosed facility.
MarineLand is currently closed ‘temporarily’ however, we will continue to monitor as this situation develops, perhaps this is simply a way for them to continue to operate by securing funding of some sort. If the park is sold we can only wonder what the future will hold for the dolphins and belugas held there, including the lone orca Kiska, captured in Icelandic waters in 1979 who, having been alone in her tank for over a decade, has become known as the “loneliest whale in the world”.
