SeaWorld has stepped in to save the thirty beluga whales that have been stuck in a closed Canadian theme park for two years.
Once one of Canada’s largest marine parks in Marineland, Ontario, it stopped operating as a public attraction two years ago (in 2024) due to financial constraints, and since then the whales have been trapped there.
The US government has taken a step forward in an international rescue effort, as major aquariums from around the world join forces to save the whales and give them new homes.
The rescue team includes SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and a Spanish aquarium Oceanografic Valencia. Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium is helping with rescue efforts, but won’t take any whales for themselves.
It has been revealed that two whales will go to Spain, while the other 28 will go to the US. The exact number of fish the aquariums will get has not been revealed.
The rescue effort comes after Marineland warned last year that it might have to put the whales down if the government did not step in with money or approval to relocate them.
The park first wanted to send the whales to a marine park in China; however, Canadian officials said no, citing animal welfare concerns.
In June, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans supported a new plan instead of sending the whales to the United States and Spain. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has now also signed it.
