TORONTO — The death of Peekachu, a beluga whale who died at the Shedd Aquarium just two weeks after being transferred from Marineland, appears to be a direct consequence of having been transported in a state of compromised health.
Marineland failed to plan for the future of its whales and dolphins and sought to offload the animals as soon as they were no longer profitable. Rather than taking the time needed to ensure all animals were truly healthy enough to survive transport, federal officials appear to have rushed to issue export permits following Marineland’s threats to kill the animals.
“Peekachu’s death is devastating but not surprising. Transporting sick belugas is a death sentence for those animals, yet the Canadian government has apparently signed off on export permits for all 30 Marineland whales without ensuring they were healthy enough to withstand the stress of transport. Peekachu was stolen from the wild, endured more than 20 years in tiny, deteriorating tanks at Marineland, and suffered an agonizing death after a stressful transport. This tragedy was completely avoidable,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy at Animal Justice, Canada’s leading animal law organization.
“Marineland owns land worth hundreds of millions of dollars and can not credibly claim finances as a reason to rush fragile animals through transport rather than give them the time and care they need to travel safely.”
Transport is extremely risky for belugas, particularly if they are in poor health. After Marineland exported five belugas to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut in 2021, the facility acknowledged that the animals had pre-existing health conditions. Three of those animals later died.
Since 2021, conditions at Marineland have not improved, and Ontario authorities have failed to intervene to improve the health and well-being of the whales and dolphins at the notorious roadside zoo, despite having the legal authority to do so.
Additionally, Animal Justice continues to call on all facilities that receive Marineland whales to publicly commit to never breeding them.
“These whales have already endured a lifetime of confinement and exploitation. They should not be used to produce another generation of captive whales destined to spend their lives in tanks instead of the ocean,” Ms. Mitchell said.
“Canada passed a law in 2019 outlawing whale breeding, meant to ensure these whales would be the last generation of belugas to endure captivity. We owe it to these whales to make sure that promise doesn’t stop at the border.”
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