🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie is an cute small “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but guardian-like friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and moves like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a closed attraction, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the intense controversy over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in confinement, have been thoroughly researched by the people who see them each day.

After the national authorities disallowed the sale of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the government pays for the upkeep of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an ever more uncertain situation.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ neuroanatomy, along with their vocal imitation skills, intellectual tasks and communal behavior suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something a former trainer observed personally.

Burgess spent a significant period as a marine mammal specialist, a job that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so magical and rewarding.”

Burgess knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and quirks in their characters. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with different personalities.

“Eve chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Both altered the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s connection with the whales developed against a background of increasing societal concern to their confinement.

During her time at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park ascribes to age-related causes, but which campaigners say points to the inadequate care in which they were maintained.

The facility did not admit visitors to the guests over the summer, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and navigate with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not comment to a inquiry, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant supervision than any individual in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in early March following the death of a beluga, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to put down. She said the park suspected particulars of the incident were shared to the media and she was released not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any efforts to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “considerable personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

“It’s impossible in hell the caretakers would ever do it,” she said.

She backs requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In recent months, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a proposal to export the whales to China.

“Allowing the request would have meant a perpetual life in confinement and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that whales are meant for the sea, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing permit an relocation that would continue the situation these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reveal a wider misunderstanding of the circumstances of life for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers work to find a answer, ideas have been put forward, some of which have little basis in reality. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received government approval, has proven contentious. The planned location, which includes 100 acres of protected cove, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a sustainable solution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s spoken with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Some experts say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible approach in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the sanctuary project, said the site will mimic the intellectual stimulation and nutrition the whales get from caretakers, albeit in a significantly bigger space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|