A shuttered amusement park and aquarium in Canada is reportedly claiming it will have to euthanize 30 beluga whales unless the federal government provides them with funding.
Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario — which went up for sale in 2023 and closed to the public in summer 2024 — allegedly threatened to kill its remaining 30 belugas unless the park received federal aid to continue providing the animals still living at Marineland with care, per The Guardian, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and CBS News. The outlets reported that the shuttered park notified the Canadian government on October 3 that it would need funding or approval to export the whales to another location by October 7.
After years of allegations of animal mistreatment, including the death of 20 whales since 2019, per The Guardian, Marineland closed its doors in September 2024 after 60 years in operation. According to CBS, Marineland has been attempting to sell its remaining animals since then.
PEOPLE reached out to Marineland, but representatives for the closed park did not immediately respond with a comment.
Earlier in October, Canada’s fisheries minister, Joanne Thompson, denied Marineland’s request to sell the belugas to a theme park in China, citing that the sale would further the animals’ mistreatment.
Marineland’s Oct. 3 letter, reportedly addressed to Thompson, said that the closed park is in a
