‘It’s heartbreaking’: the way thirty captive beluga whales are now pawns in conflict over animal cruelty.

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a large but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and moves like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based amusement park have been entangled in a disagreement between a defunct facility, local and national governments and advocacy groups.

But those working directly with the whales say the intense discussion over their fate often fails to consider the nuances of the whales who, after spending their lives in captivity, have been closely studied by the humans who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government prevented the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the government pays for the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that request, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and communal behavior point to they are deeply intelligent animals – something Kristy Burgess discovered directly.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a job that entailed building relationships of the marine predators.

“Establishing those bonds over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain shared confidence. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was even so surprised by the nuances and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She cultivated a deep bond for Eve and Cleopatra with contrasting natures.

“One whale selected me. Cleo made me earn it,” she said. “Both changed the way I view relationships.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Her relationship with the whales evolved against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their enclosure.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, succumbed. In total, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a number which the facility ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the recent season, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes results of the cessation. “Structural materials is falling apart from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being fixed. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their jaws. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far better veterinary services and constant care than any person in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was fired from the facility in early March following the passing of Eos, an ailing beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the facility thought information of the death were shared to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.

The uncertainty over the whales’ outcome has left her and staff members in distress. She says the park’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “logistically impossible” task, adding any attempts to euthanize even a single beluga would require “considerable personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She advocates for requests for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

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

“Granting the proposal would have meant a perpetual situation in enclosure and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in pools for our enjoyment. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s statements reflect a broader misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the rest of their years,” she said. “People just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities work to find a solution, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan 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 proposed refuge in the province of eastern Canada, which now received government approval, has proven most controversial. The planned location, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Advocates remain optimistic that it could eventually represent a permanent answer for some of the whales.

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

Some experts say the prospect of a protected habitat represents a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a workable solution in the short term.

Charles Vinick, director of the sanctuary project, said the location will simulate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|