Several SeaWorld facilities in the U.S. are assisting in rehoming 30 beluga whales from a shuttered Canadian amusement park.
The whales are currently living in Marineland, a closed theme park in Ontario that can no longer afford to keep the animals, creating what SeaWorld has described as an “urgent animal welfare situation.”
Now, SeaWorld facilities in San Antonio and San Diego, have joined in a mission alongside the aquariums in Chicago, Connecticut, Atlanta and Valencia, Spain, to re-home the whales, per the San Antonio Express-News.
In a post to Facebook, SeaWorld explained: “SeaWorld San Diego and SeaWorld San Antonio are proud to join a coalition of AZA-accredited aquariums in a coordinated international effort to rescue and provide long-term care for 30 beluga whales.
“From veterinary medicine and animal nutrition to habitat design and around-the-clock care, this operation brings together decades of expertise across multiple organizations, all focused on one thing: the wellbeing of these animals. We’re honored to work alongside our partners to help give these belugas the future they deserve.”
AZA-accredited aquariums are heavily inspected aquariums that reach the highest quality of animal welfare and veterinary medicine, per the Association of Zoo and Aquariums.
The whales are also being sent to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, which took to Instagram to announce the transfer, saying: “Caring for belugas long-term requires decades of expertise, advanced veterinary care, rigorous animal wellbeing standards and a deep understanding of what these animals need to thrive. “
This move has been in the works for several years, as Marineland closed to the public in 2024. The park initially intended to send the whales to China, but their transfer was blocked by the Canadian fisheries minister, despite the park saying that the beluga whales would have to be euthanized if they could not find them a new home, per Guardian reporting.
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans then agreed in June to allow SeaWorld and other aquariums to take the whales.
SeaWorld has described the transfer of the whales as a “historic effort.” Though, it’s not over yet. The whales are still awaiting individual veterinary inspections to ensure they are healthy enough to travel to their new homes. Final transit permits will only be granted if the animals pass health checks.
Animal rights advocates are celebrating this as “the least worst option,” according to Guardian reporting.
With Kaitlyn Mitchell, a lawyer at Animal Justice, telling the outlet: “For years, these animals have languished in decrepit, deteriorating tanks while Ontario’s animal welfare agency failed to take meaningful action.”
Beluga whales are found in the wild in the Arctic and around sea ice. Their existence is threatened by melting polar ice caps and oil and gas development in the Arctic sea, per the WWF.
