No response from Inuit organizations over Marineland belugas
Fate of 30 whales remains unclear after Ottawa denied export permit and financial support, leaving amusement park to warning of possible euthanasia.
A beluga whale swims in a tank at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., in a 2023 photo provided by World Animal Protection. The financially troubled amusement park says it will be forced to euthanize its 30 belugas unless it receives government financial support because it can’t afford to keep them any longer. (Photo courtesy of World Animal Protection)
Inuit organizations have not responded to a suggestion to take in 30 beluga whales from Marineland that have been at risk of being euthanized after the Niagara Falls amusement park said it can no longer afford their care.
Marineland had asked the federal government for financial support, warning it would have to euthanize the whales if help didn’t come by Oct. 7. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson rejected the park’s request to export the whales to China.
The Canadian Press reported Thursday that the whales are alive, after the Tuesday deadline has passed.
Jason Etok, who grew up in Nunavik, urged Inuit leaders to step in and help provide habitat for the belugas, suggesting they could be released in Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay or the St. Lawrence River.
Tommy Palliser, executive director of the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board, said the idea of releasing the captive-born whales into the wild would be challenging but not impossible.
Makivvik Corp., the Inuit organization that protects the rights and interests of Nunavik Inuit, has not responded to followup requests for comment on Etok’s idea.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization in Canada, declined to comment on the idea.
Nunatsiaq News also reached out to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. for comment but it hadn’t responded as of Friday afternoon.
Let the government take care of it. sounds like , a expensive project . money better spent on housing in the north.
Do you think the locals in the area would have an issue if the Government relocated them to Hudson Bay?
Wow like as if Nunavut and Nunavut are the only ones with beluga whales
Ask Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
Better yet ask Quebec they have belugas even ask Ontario since the go through the Hudson Bay
We live in a world where predators like Israel get a pass for killing kids but a bunch of whales in captivity?
International problems vs local problems. Gotta keep the two separate