Marineland announces they will open for the season despite animal welfare concerns

Marineland announced its opening plans for the 2024 season - they will continue its display of beluga whales, while shutting down its other animal attractions including its land-animal exhibits, aquarium and so-called ‘penguin palace’. 

While Marineland’s announcement suggests the facility may be moving away from its animal attractions, it falls short of a complete transition. 

Marineland is doubling down on its so-called ‘Friendship Cove’ which is nothing but a substandard venue for innocent beluga whales to be exploited for entertainment purposes. Animal welfare groups like us have been concerned for years and after recently being found guilty of animal neglect, Marineland has lost public trust in its ability to care for animals.

- Melissa Matlow, Campaign Director, World Animal Protection

A news release claiming a ‘potential sale’ of Marineland in April left us with more questions: who will take over the facility, and more importantly, what will happen to the animals? 

Since 2019, a horrifying sixteen beluga whales, one orca, one dolphin, two seals and two sea lions have died under suspicious circumstances at Marineland. The belugas that remain are kept in increasingly substandard conditions and deserve better. 

Marineland has also been found guilty under Ontario’s animal welfare legislation for failing to comply with an order related to the care of three young black bears. All the animals at Marineland deserve better.  

Marineland, like so many other under-regulated facilities in Ontario, continues to dodge accountability because of Ontario’s weak animal welfare enforcement, which has bred a culture of non-compliance with what little regulations exist in the province. 

We have been asking the Ontario government for years to pass stronger regulations and improve enforcement. The Government of Ontario needs to step in and ensure the transfer of ownership of Marineland leads to higher standards of living for the animals in their care.