Belugas likely to be rehomed, anyhow. Marineland history suggests not holding breath unless swimming underwater
NIAGARA, Ontario––Tentative good news about the fate of animals left by the 2024 closure of Marineland at Niagara Falls was offset within a week by more of the frequent bad news about Marineland that has emerged since Ontario animal advocate Cara Sands formed Friends of the Dolphin and began issuing critical reports about the facility following visits in May 1989.
The good news, reported Carly Thomas for the CBC on June 3, 2026, was that “Europe’s largest aquarium is now a likely destination for some of the 30 belugas still circling the tanks at Marineland.”
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Thomas said, has “endorsed a rescue plan that would see all remaining whales split up and sent to Oceanogràfic València in Spain or one of four U.S. locations: the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and two SeaWorld facilities in San Diego, California, and San Antonio, Texas.
Living under the threat of euthanasia
That would, however, leave all 30 belugas still in captivity and on exhibition.
“The whales have been living under the threat of euthanasia since last fall,” Thomas summarized, “when Marineland’s request to export them to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China was denied by the federal government.
“The theme park and zoo was closed to the public,” Thomas narrated, “following the deaths of owners John Holer and his wife Marie Holer.”
However, Shedd Aquarium vice president John Ford emailed to Thomas, “There is no definite timeline for the rescue.”
Ford did tell Thomas that all of the intended recipient aquariums “are prepared to activate in a matter of weeks.”
Not going to Whale Sanctuary because Whale Sanctuary does not have a sanctuary
Meanwhile, the belugas must clear veterinary examinations, the Canadian government must issue permits allowing them to be exported, and the would-be recipients must obtain “the necessary import permits from the U.S. and Spanish governments – a process we are engaged in now,” Ford explained to Thomas.
A previous scheme to transfer some of the belugas to the Whale Sanctuary Project fell through because the Whale Sanctuary Project, despite years of publicity activities and fundraising, does not, in fact, have a sanctuary, with no likelihood of having one in the imminent future.
(See Whale Sanctuary Project may not finally get some whales after all.)
“Deer & elk in grave danger”
On June 10, 2026, with word of the intended beluga relocations still percolating through social media, attracting “likes,” thumbs-up icons, and smiley-face emoji, the Ontario advocacy group Animal Justice interrupted the celebrations, announcing “Hundreds of deer and elk at Marineland are in grave danger.
“According to information provided to Animal Justice by a Marineland employee,” Animal Justice posted, “the now-for-sale park has begun removing deer and elk from the property and may be sending some of them to slaughterhouses.
“More than 100 animals have reportedly already been moved, and hundreds of remaining animals are expected to be removed by July 24, 2026,” Animal Justice charged.
“The employee has also shared disturbing information about the animals’ living conditions,” Animal Justice continued, “including inadequate veterinary care, deer suffering from lacerations caused by fencing, and injuries resulting from fighting in overcrowded enclosures,” an ongoing issue, along with stampedes, about which ANIMALS 24-7 has received reports since 2012.
“Facial wounds & other injuries”
“Photographs provided to Animal Justice appear to show deer with facial wounds and other injuries,” the organization said, posting examples.
What might be done about the situation is unclear. While some species of deer and elk are native to Ontario, some of the deer and elk are reportedly of non-native species. All have been semi-isolated from wild populations and habitat for several decades.
“Federal laws place strict restrictions on the transport of unfit or compromised animals. These laws are meant to prevent animals from suffering during loading, transport, and unloading,” Animal Justice noted.
“Deer and elk are naturally ill-suited for handling and transport,” Animal Justice said. “They are easily stressed and are at significant risk of injury or even death when transported, especially when forced into close contact with other frightened animals.
Asked province & feds to investigate
“Additionally, according to public reports,” Animal Justice alleged, “the exotic animal business Marineland has turned to in order to transport large numbers of deer has previously been linked to animal-related offenses.”
Animal Justice did not name the company.
Animal Justice asked Ontario Provincial Animal Welfare Services and the Canadian Food Inspection Authority to investigate.
While no action was immediately evident from those directions, Wayne Gates, Member of Parliament for Niagara Falls, on June 10, 2026, the same day the Animal Justice exposé appeared, wrote to Ontario solicitor general Michael Kerzner, “It has been brought to my attention that a whistleblower is raising concerns that hundreds of deer and elk at Marineland are being quickly and silently trucked off the property, many in distress and injured.
“Should never take a whistleblower”
“Minister,” Gates said, “it should never take a whistleblower to ensure public accountability. Ontario Provincial Animal Welfare Services has the authority to inspect, and reports about these injuries and rushed transport should be responded to publicly, with urgency.”
Posted Gates to Facebook, along with his letter to Kerzner, “This is terrible––but, why are we hearing about allegations and forced to speculate when the province should be making their investigations public?”
The most recent available “inspection report” pertaining to Marineland of Niagara Falls appears to be notes posted online on June 13, 2026 by Erik Kaspersetz, who introduced himself as “a mechatronics engineering student at Mohawk College in Ontario, Canada.”
Erik Kaspersetz hiked around the closed Marineland facilities to see whatever he could without trespassing.
Bad news bears are gone
“The property has remained staffed over the years to care for the remaining animals, who continue to be shipped out to other facilities around the world,” Kaspersetz wrote.
“As of this posting their twelve black bears have been moved to a sanctuary in Colorado and the government is backing plans to export more whales; every fewer animal on property is one less reason to continue operating.”
Kaspersetz said nothing about the deer and elk.
Bear care became part of the Marineland death throes when on August 15, 2024 an Ontario provincial court fined the facility $45,000 for neglecting the care of bears named Sasha, Sugar, and Maple, also known as Slash, Lizzie, and Toad, and ordered Marineland to pay $28,000 in restitution to reimburse the Ontario government for caring for the bears after they were impounded.
Too many burials on site
Notorious for a high death rate among the resident animals, Marineland was in 2013 ordered by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to stop burying animals on the 1,000-acre site.
Buried on the property, the Toronto Star reported, were “whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals and walruses, as well as bears, bison, deer and other animals.”
Earlier, wrote Toronto Star staff reporters Linda Diebel and Liam Casey on September 8, 2012, “Casual brutality when animals need to be put down is common and substandard enclosures are prevalent, according to Jim Hammond, the former land animal care supervisor at the facility who resigned last year,” after having had to use a dull knife to dispatch a red deer who had suffered a compound fracture, then survived a 12-gauge shotgun blast from Marineland of Niagara Falls owner John Holer.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Marineland of Niagara Falls “opened in 1961 when founder John Holer,” a 26-year-old immigrant from Slovenia, “started shows with a few sea lions in a small pool,” recounted Casey later for Canadian Press.
“The facility rapidly grew from a single acre into 1,000 acres, becoming one of the largest zoos in Canada, and the largest aquarium.”
Please donate to help our work:
www.animals24-7.org/donate
Discover more from Animals 24-7
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Sharing with gratitude and other thoughts I won’t post here, except to say that I was one of many kids whose parents thought an outing to one of these marine parks was a wonderful way to spend the day. They knew nothing of the exploitation and suffering these animals endure, or the conditions of capture of so many.