Six beluga whales have been relocated from the defunct Marineland theme park in Ontario, Canada, to sanctuaries in the United States. The operation, which began Monday, July 20, 2026, marks a significant milestone for animal welfare advocates who have campaigned for a decade to move the whales from deteriorating conditions.

Officials had threatened to euthanize the remaining 30 beluga whales at Marineland in 2025 after the park had been closed to the public for two years. The first group of six whales were airlifted to facilities including the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and SeaWorld in San Antonio. Weighing up to 3,500 pounds each, the whales were lifted by cranes into specialized transport trucks.

Marketa Schusterova, co-founder of the advocacy group TideBreakers, described the rescue as a "milestone." TideBreakers has monitored Marineland since 2019, documenting animal deaths and advocating for improved welfare. During that period, 20 animals died at the facility, including 19 beluga whales and Kiska, Canada's last captive orca.

The current welfare of the whales necessitates their relocation to captive facilities, as they are not fit for release into the wild. The move comes after Marineland presented an "urgent rescue solution" to the Canadian federal government earlier this year. Marineland ceased operations and closed to the public following the deaths of its owners, John Holer and Marie Holer, in 2024.

Canada passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act in 2019, which prohibits the breeding and future captivity of cetaceans for entertainment. However, the absence of operational sea sanctuaries for beluga whales means that relocation to other captive facilities is currently the only viable short-term option for improving the animals' welfare.

A member of the relocation team from Chicago's Shedd Aquarium touches a beluga whale, one of the first batch of six to be transported to aquariums in the U.S., after its relocation from the closed marine park Marineland Canada to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. July 21, 2026

"We cannot simply demand that facilities 'empty the tanks' without having safe, practical destinations ready for the animals," Schusterova stated, highlighting the broader welfare crisis facing marine mammals as parks close globally. She added, "Our shared goal should be to end cetacean captivity responsibly while ensuring no animal is left to suffer in the process."

A date for the rescue of the remaining 24 beluga whales has not yet been confirmed. The rescued whales are expected to live out their lives in their new captive environments.