‘It’s heartbreaking’: how 30 confined beluga whales are being used as bargaining chips in conflict over animal welfare.

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “ham sandwich”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the impassioned debate over their fate often overlooks the nuances of the whales who, after growing up in enclosed habitats, have been closely studied by the people who interact with them daily.

After the Canadian government disallowed the export of the belugas to a foreign facility, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are held threatened to euthanize them unless the federal government funds the expense of keeping them alive. The nation’s marine resources official has denied that demand, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious circumstance.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are deeply intelligent animals – something a former trainer learned personally.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of care. At the beginning, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were exceptionally cognitive, but she says she was nonetheless surprised by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She cultivated a special affection for a pair of whales with different personalities.

“Eve chose me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “Each transformed the way I understand connection.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her relationship with the whales developed against a backdrop of increasing societal concern to their captivity.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, succumbed. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the park ascribes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were kept.

The facility did not operate to the public over the recent season, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand effects of the cessation. “Structural materials is falling apart from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The park did not respond to a questionnaire, but in the past claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and around the clock attention than any person in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Fate in Limbo and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the park in early March following the passing of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to put down. She said the park thought details of the death were disclosed to the press and she was let go not long after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the facility’s warning to kill its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “logistically impossible” undertaking, adding any efforts to put down even a individual beluga would require “immense personnel”, trucks and machinery.

“There’s no way in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess supports requests for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its deteriorating pools and dwindling staff.

In recent months, Canada’s government official rejected a request to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the application would have meant a ongoing life in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official commented. “As Canadians, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an transfer that would continue the conditions these belugas have experienced.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reveal a more general lack of awareness of the circumstances of existence for belugas raised in confinement.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “People just don’t comprehend that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials attempt to find a answer, suggestions have emerged, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a key source of food for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested refuge in the region of Nova Scotia, which has received official endorsement, has been most controversial. The planned site, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain hopeful that it could eventually represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

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

Different voices say the possibility of a sanctuary indicates a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a viable approach in the coming months.

The project lead, head of the sanctuary project, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and feeding regimen the whales get from trainers, albeit in a much larger environment. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|