Last captive whales in Canada to leave Marineland as belugas head for U.S.

Canada’s last captive whales are set to leave the country on Monday as six belugas from Marineland are shipped to two aquariums in the United States.

The closed Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction is up for sale and the park has said it is running out of money and can no longer care for its animals.

“There will no longer be any beluga whales or any other type of whales in captivity in Canada at the end of today,” said Andrew Burns, Marineland’s adviser.

Two of the belugas will be en route to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and four to SeaWorld in San Antonio later on Monday.

Once the journey is complete, Marineland will have shipped 30 belugas and four dolphins over six moves to five different aquariums in the largest collective relocation of captive whales the world has ever seen.

The park has also shipped its marine mammals to SeaWorld in San Diego, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and Oceanografic Vdealencia in Spain.

Canada banned whale and dolphin captivity in 2019, but grandfathered in the animals at Marineland. The law also forbade breeding, which forced Marineland to separate its male and female belugas, and banned performances.

That was the beginning of the end of Marineland, whose founder, John Holer, died the year before in 2018.

Whale captivity in Canada began in 1964 with a killer whale named Moby Doll. Vancouver Aquarium initially sought to kill and display a killer whale, but when the harpoon didn’t kill Moby Doll, officials brought the animal ashore and put it in a makeshift tank.

People flocked to see the animal, but Moby Doll died after 88 days in captivity. But by then, a new industry in Canada came to life.

Holer had already been smitten with the circus world and he bought a small parcel of land not far from Horseshoe Falls in 1961. He built up Marineland over years, leaning heavily on acquiring and showing off marine mammals such as killer whales, belugas and dolphins, along with building roller-coasters and other rides.

Marineland was at one point the country’s most popular amusement park.

Holer’s widow, Marie Holer, took over after his death in what would prove to be difficult years, as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on Marineland and other tourist attractions. As the world recovered, Marineland did not.

By early 2024, Marie Holer put the park up for sale before she died in September of that year.