🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned controversy over their destiny often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities disallowed the export of the belugas to China, the controversial amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to put them down unless the federal government funds the upkeep of keeping them alive. The nation’s fisheries minister has denied that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their sound replication, intellectual tasks and social skills indicate they are deeply intelligent mammals – something one caretaker learned first-hand.

She spent a significant period as a beluga trainer, a job that required earning the trust of the aquatic animals.

“Developing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the subtleties and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing temperaments.

“One whale selected me. The other demanded work,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales evolved against a background of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.

During her time at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Structural materials is breaking off from the pools because they’re degrading and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they grab fragments and swim around with fragments in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not comment to a inquiry, but earlier claimed: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and around the clock supervision than any human in the UK, or other places.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the park in recent months following the passing of a beluga, an unwell beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the park thought particulars of the incident were shared to the news outlets and she was let go shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and other caretakers in anguish. She says the park’s warning to end the lives of its whales is a leverage tool and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable staff”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

“It cannot happen in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess advocates for requests for the whales to be removed promptly from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, Canada’s government official denied a bid to export the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a perpetual existence in enclosure and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that marine mammals belong in the sea, not in enclosures for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an transfer that would perpetuate the situation these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the official’s comments indicate a more general incorrect perception of the facts of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t comprehend that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Continuing Discussion

As officials work to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Inuit communities.

A planned refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received government approval, has proven contentious. The planned facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Advocates remain positive that it could in time represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s spoken with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a changing attitudes away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

An official, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the mental engagement and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive environment. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|