Overview
- Federal approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration clears an emergency rescue plan for about 30 beluga whales remaining at Marineland in Niagara Falls.
- Canada has issued conditional export/CITES paperwork but Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson requires an accredited Canadian veterinarian to clear each whale before final Fisheries Act authorizations are granted.
- A consortium of AZA‑accredited institutions, including SeaWorld San Antonio and San Diego, the Georgia Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium and Oceanogràfic València, is sending care teams to Marineland to assess animals and prepare phased transfers.
- The whales were born in captivity and cannot be released to the wild, which narrows options to accredited facilities or specially designed sanctuaries and follows years of welfare concerns and dozens of deaths at Marineland since 2019.
- The operation will take several weeks and proceed only as individuals pass health checks, and it is likely to renew scrutiny of long‑term decisions about breeding, performance restrictions and cross‑border transfers.