Beluga whales begin rescue from closed Marineland to U.S., Spain

Six beluga whales left the closed Marineland park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on July 20, starting an international transfer that will send the animals to aquariums in the United States and Spain. The move is part of an emergency rescue effort for the 30 surviving belugas left behind after Marineland shut to the public in September 2024, with U.S. federal officials approving an emergency import earlier this month.

Twenty-eight belugas were set to be relocated to aquariums across the United States after that approval, with SeaWorld, the Georgia Aquarium and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago among the named destinations. The Whale Sanctuary Project said on July 8 that Marineland had announced plans to distribute the 30 surviving animals among commercial facilities in the United States under Section 109(h) of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, a medical-emergency clause that gave the transfer a legal path after the park’s closure. Other whales were also planned for Spain.

The logistics have been unusually complex. The Guardian described the transfer process in January as one that would involve health checks, fabric slings, anti-anxiety medicine, cranes and planes. A Reuters Connect caption later described six beluga whales making an air trip across North America to a new home. ABC News said the animals were in danger of being euthanized if they were not rescued, raising the stakes of a move that is as much a veterinary operation as a transport job.

Marineland’s shutdown after years of controversy and allegations of animal abuse has made the whale transfer a national test case in what happens when marine parks close with large cetaceans still in their tanks. The rescue plan depends on permits, specialized handling and cross-border coordination, and it now stands as a live question for other facilities that keep captive whales: whether emergency relocation can serve as a workable model, or whether it is only what happens when regulation arrives after the crisis.