Overview
- Teams moved six belugas from the closed Marineland of Canada to U.S. facilities as the first phase of a larger rescue operation, with the transfers beginning on Monday and unfolding over that day and the next.
- Four females — Sierra, Acadia, Osiris and Lillooet — arrived at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and two, Bertie Botts and Frankie, were taken to SeaWorld San Antonio.
- The operation relied on cranes, custom slings, water‑filled transport containers, police‑escorted trucks and a cargo plane, with veterinarians and caretakers accompanying the whales throughout to monitor stress and health.
- Further moves will continue over weeks and require individual veterinary clearances, Canadian export permits and, for Oceanogràfic Valencia in Spain, foreign approvals that are still pending; questions remain about breeding and performance restrictions under Canadian law.
- Marineland closed in 2024 after years of welfare concerns and provincial records show 20 cetacean deaths since 2019, and because these whales were raised in captivity they cannot be released to the wild and must go to accredited facilities or specially built sanctuaries.