Marineland belugas deserve legal protection, not posturing and politics

Law360 Canada (October 10, 2025, 10:20 AM EDT) --

V. Victoria Shroff

In 2019, Canada enacted groundbreaking federal law banning the capture and breeding of whales, dolphins and porpoises for entertainment, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, also known as the “Free Willy” bill, whereby Canadian facilities are not allowed to hold, breed or import whales and dolphins. After the law was enacted, the remaining cetaceans held in Marineland in Ontario were grandfathered in and allowed to remain captive in tiny tanks in the marine facility. While, fortunately, the Marineland whales will be the final group of whales in Canada who will ever have to live miserable lives in tiny tanks, the fate of the 30 remaining belugas in Ontario is currently hanging in limbo.

In 2024, the touristic Marineland shut down its theme park to the public and then in autumn of 2025, it tried to ship its 30 remaining whales to a theme park in China. The federal government rightly denied the necessary export permit as it did not want the mammals to be sent to live out their lives as entertainers as it was not in their best welfare interests, and it did not accord with the 2019 law. In rightly refusing to issue a permit, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson stated why she reached her decision: “It is rooted in the Fisheries Act and I’m proud that in Canada we do have an Act that’s very specific around the treatment of whales in particular, and how it is not OK to keep them in captivity for entertainment purposes.”

Killing whales to save money?

After being denied a permit from the federal government, Marineland responded that it would look into euthanizing (killing) the whales unless the federal government provided them with funding to care for the animals. Marineland has long profited from having marine mammals as a tourist draw at its Niagara Falls location, and the notion that it is an untenable financial burden on Marineland to now care for the whales housed in their tanks holds little weight given that the valuable land alone could finance a solution that prioritizes the well-being of the whales. It is deplorable to think that the whales could be killed to save a big business money after it has been using these magnificent cetaceans to generate income as hapless entertainers for years. Why was there no humane relocation plan for the cetaceans already in place when the theme park knew it was closing many months ago?

Belugas are highly intelligent sentient beings who experience joy, fear, stress and live in matrilineal groups (see The Surprising Intelligence of Whales). What vet would agree to “euthanize” healthy animals as a business cost-saving measure? Euthanasia is meant to be used to end animal lives on compassionate, medically necessary grounds. What about the psychological suffering of the other whales in the pod watching the euthanasia of one of their own kind? One need not be a scientist to comprehend that the psychological distress within the pod would be palpable and completely inhumane.

A flawed legal framework

The problem here, as in many animal-related legal matters, is that though whales are complex, sentient living beings with intrinsic worth, we are operating under a flawed legal framework that classifies and treats animals as mere property. Because animals are considered property under the law, the whales are owned by Marineland. As owners, Marineland can do what they want with the belugas with few legal limitations. The rights of the individual whales or as a group are virtually nonexistent, with any quasi rights being contingent on human ownership. Canadian animal-related laws operate in a welfare environment regulating how animals are treated, but laws do not recognize an animal’s right not be owned as property. Cetaceans deserve better.

To top it off, Marineland has a very public and poor track record with cetaceans. Sadly, since 2019, 20 whales have died at the facility. A few years ago, the orca Kiska’s pitiful death was a highly publicized and epic animal law fail. As I noted at the time, “She should never have been captured, used as an entertainer and had to live out her days alone in a concrete water tank.” Kiska was the last captive killer whale in captivity in Canada, and she died a sad death at Marineland in 2023.

Belugas held at Marineland require immediate, enforceable legal protections, not political deflection or regulatory inaction.

The Ontario PAWS Act

The province of Ontario should play a key role in ensuring the well-being of the captive whales by enforcing its provincial animal welfare legislation, and Marineland must be held morally, legally and financially responsible for their care.

Whales, like all animals, can and should be protected from cruelty under the law. Provincial animal cruelty laws do apply in this situation, and enforcement is essential to protect these intelligent and sensitive creatures from harm. In Ontario, the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act (PAWS Act) applies to these majestic marine mammals and provides legal protections against physical and psychological distress. While there’s no question that the PAWS Act recognizes that animals deserve protection from suffering and distress, this should not be confused with a quasi right that the whales hold.


The fate of the beleaguered belugas should concern us all

The fate of the 30 beleaguered belugas at Marineland is an issue of national concern as Ontario is now the only province with captive belugas in Canada.

Are there sanctuary options for the belugas in Canada? Unfortunately, the Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia is still in development and is not currently in a position to provide a home to the whales.

An Inuit group has suggested that the whales could be moved to Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay or the St. Lawrence River, where they could be reintegrated into the wild if they obtained proper training and guidance.

Ontario should take steps to immediately intervene under the PAWS Act, a statute that provides the province with not just the authority but the responsibility to protect all animals from distress. Animal welfare services should intervene without delay to care for the animals and demand that Marineland pay the bill for cost of care.

As I frequently note to my animal law students, how we treat animals under the law is a yardstick for how we are doing as a society. The world is watching Canada and how we treat our animals under the law. The sentient and cognitively complex belugas held at Marineland should not be treated like pawns in a high-stakes posturing game. They are fighting for their lives. The whales deserve a viable future. Without immediate, enforceable action for their protections, these magnificent mammals risk being consigned to watery graves.

As the former chief justice of Alberta, the Honourable Catherine Fraser (who, as a jurist, wrote the groundbreaking animal law dissent in Lucy the zoo elephant’s case), astutely noted in the 2025 foreword to the textbook, Canadian Animal Law: “We must, and can, do more to ensure a better future for the animals with whom we share this earth.”

V. Victoria Shroff, KC, is one of Canada’s first and longest-serving animal law practitioners and the longest-serving in B.C. Shroff practises animal law in Vancouver at Shroff and Associates. She is also an adjunct professor of animal law at UBC’s Allard School of Law and faculty, Capilano University. Shroff is an associate fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Recognized locally and internationally as an animal law expert, she is frequently interviewed by the media. The second edition of her book, Canadian Animal Law, was published in 2025 is available at LexisNexis Canada. www.shroffanimallaw.com | LinkedIn.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada, contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.