Help us support the Marineland Canada animals. Our Emergency Animal Shelter App (EASApp) is being used to document the care of animals that remain at Marineland Canada.
DARTCC, Cultivate Wellbeing, and several dedicated partner organizations are working together to support the vulnerable animals still at Marineland Canada. We are dedicatedly working to uncover the exact animal count and health status of each animal stranded in Marineland. We are also reaching out to the community to forensically explore the health of animals that have recently been transferred out of Marineland to other facilities.
DARTCC will publish a comprehensive Animal Tracking Report every two weeks.
These reports will maintain public awareness and ensure transparency in this critical work. This vital data is also available to other organizations and governmental groups working toward the rescue and rehabilitation of the Marineland animals.
To receive these reports directly, click this link to sign up for email updates.
We urgently need your financial support.
These animals cannot tell us about their experience, but we can carefully observe and track behavior and medical statuses to better understand how we can advocate for their wellbeing.
Every dollar helps us understand the immediate and pressing needs of the animals at Marineland Canada. Please give if you can. Your donation is a direct investment in the evidence needed to save a life.
Act Now
If you are concerned, we urge you to take one or more of the following actions immediately:
- Share this post with your professional and community networks.
- Contact Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Animal Welfare Services (AWS). AWS has stated that “all concerns about Marineland submitted to AWS are reviewed and assessed.”
Suggested script:
Subject: Care & Action for Marineland Animals
My name is [Your Name]. I am deeply distressed over the current situation of the animals at Marineland and am asking for immediate provincial intervention.
I know Premier Ford has publicly expressed concern for these animals; I am now asking him to exercise his existing regulatory authority to authorize the transfer of animals to confirmed care placements to ensure they have the life they deserve after so much hardship.
Phone: (Office of the Premier) +1 416-325-1941
Web Contact Form: https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/
Email:
- Senior Specialty Compliance Inspector, Alanna Gotziaman:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Office of the Premier: (General)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Legislative Office (Doug Ford's MPP office):
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Social Media: X (Twitter) or Instagram
- Premier Doug Ford: @fordnationdougford
- Ministry of the Solicitor General (Oversight for AWS): @ONsafety
- Ontario Animal Welfare services (AWS): @ONAnimalWelfare
Social Media: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fordnation/
Social Media: Facebook - facebook.com/FordNationOntario
A Biological Mirror - The Matriarch’s Secret - 1/19/26
Did you know? Out of the over 6,700 mammal species recognized by the Mammal Diversity Database (1), only six are scientifically confirmed to experience the distinct biological experience of menopause - humans and 5 species of whales (2):
- Humans
- Beluga Whales
- Narwhals
- Killer Whales (Orcas)
- Short-finned Pilot Whales
- False Killer Whales
Across these very different species, including humans, orcas, and belugas, this unique biological experience allows for an extended lifespan past their reproductive years.
In 2023, chimpanzees were proposed as a seventh member of this list (3). Chimpanzees experience an age-associated reproductive decline, but with a less discrete physiological profile than the biologic experience of menopause observed in humans and toothed whales - more scientific observation and species-respectful investigation may reveal the extent of this cross-species similarity in years to come.
Reference 1: Counting mammals: A living index to protect species worldwide. Earth.com (2025)
Reference 2: The evolution of menopause in toothed whales." Nature (2024)
Reference 3: Wood, B.M., Emery Thompson, M., et al. (2023). "Demographic and hormonal evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees." Science, 382(6669), 368-369.
Wisdom Keepers: The Cycle of Care
In the wild, a post-reproductive female whale is a "Wisdom Keeper." She leads her pod to foraging grounds during famines, babysits grand-offspring, and passes down cultural knowledge. Research shows that when a matriarch orca dies, the mortality risk for her adult male and grandoffspring increases significantly.
Protecting older females is crucial for the survival of whale pods in the wild, just as supporting older women strengthens the fabric of our own human communities.
In humans, menopause is adaptive - allowing women to live longer lives past their reproductive years, bringing intergenerational help and support to their families and communities.
Humans share a biological journey of intergenerational care with whales that few other species can understand.
Reference 4: Going through the menopause helps whales become long-lived grandparents, The Natural History Museum, London (2024)
Reference 5: Beyond Humans: Which Animals Go Through Menopause? An Expert’s Deep Dive, Menopause Mastery (2025)
When Biology is Disrupted by Captivity
What is the experience of a menopausal whale trapped in a tank?
The "society" of the cetaceans trapped at Marineland, Canada - many captured from the wild - has been shattered. Instead of leading kin groups and establishing social norms, they are trapped in small tanks with abnormal social dynamics, their care balanced on political and economical whims of humans.
Just a few months ago, in late 2025, the Marineland park threatened to euthanize the remaining 30 belugas due to funding shortages. Amid prolonged lack of transparent, public reporting there has been little new information on the safety and wellbeing of the 500+ stranded at Marineland.
Read the full story below.
Kiska (c. 1976-2023): Marineland’s Last Orca
Kiska was a female killer whale (Orcinus orca) who spent the majority of her life in captivity at Marineland Canada, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She was captured from Icelandic waters in 1979, when she was approximately 3 years old.
Over her lifetime at Marineland, Kiska gave birth to five calves between 1992 and 2004. None of Kiska’s calves survived. Several died shortly after birth; others died within months or years.
Kiska’s repeated reproductive losses were consistent with patterns observed in captive orcas, where calf mortality rates are significantly higher than in wild populations. Kiska died in March 2023 at approximately 47 years of age. Her necropsy report was never released.
Based on her age, Kiska likely experienced the hormonal shift of menopause alone, in a featureless pool, without a single family or kin member nearby.
Her suffering was the catalyst for Bill S-203 (6,7), which ended the future of whale captivity in Canada—but it came too late for her.
Act Now: While Wisdom is Still Alive
There are currently 500+ animals remaining at Marineland—including 17 female belugas. Menopause is not an ending—it is a biological investment in continuity, care, and collective survival.
Among the female belugas still confined at Marineland—many of them mothers, many entering or approaching their post-reproductive years—are living embodiments of this shared biology, but still trapped outside of their biological and social norms and support.
The biological mirror is clear. How we treat our elders—human and nonhuman alike—defines the society we claim to be.
Don’t let silence become the decision. You can act now:
- Stay Informed: Review the most current welfare data through our Animal Tracker
- Hold Leadership Accountable: Contact Premier Doug Ford and Solicitor General Kerzner to affirm that “Wisdom Keepers” deserve transition-to-care pathways—not neglect, custodial confinement, and threat of euthanasia.
- Remain Engaged: Let us know you’re interested in receiving updates on developments in this crisis and to receive our animal tracking report directly. Click this sign up link.
Enabling Care Transitions: When Evidence Meets Leadership - 1/5/2026
Data is not abstract. It represents living beings—their health trajectories, daily care conditions, and the decisions made by those responsible for their wellbeing.
In time-critical neglect scenarios, data gaps can directly result in preventable animal deaths.
The ongoing situation at Marineland, Canada illustrates this risk. When data is absent, delayed, or withheld, animals are placed in jeopardy. In veterinary and regulatory contexts, data is care.
Accurate animal counts, medical records, and welfare documentation are not optional. They are baseline requirements for:
- Ethical veterinary oversight and care
- Regulatory decision-making and accountability
- Emergency intervention planning
Clinical Concern: Reports of Acute Illness
According to a recent public report by @urgentSeas, two beluga whales at Marineland have reportedly stopped eating and are receiving emergency medical treatment. (1)
In veterinary medicine, anorexia in cetaceans can be a serious clinical warning sign, commonly associated with:
- Acute or chronic stress
- Underlying illness or infection
- Nutritional compromise
- Systemic care failure
The question is unavoidable:
Are two more whales at imminent risk of dying at Marineland?
Government Intervention Is Needed
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has publicly described the situation at Marineland as “just terrible over there,” stating that the park has a responsibility to ensure the remaining beluga whales are healthy and that his “heart breaks for the poor whales.” (2)
The question now is whether concern will translate into decisive action.
The ongoing financial instability at the Marineland Canada site raises increasingly urgent questions:
- What assets, supplies, or reserves were secured or lost following the February 2025 severance?
- Are animals not eating due to illness—or due to inadequate feeding capacity related to understaffing or supply shortages?
- Do on-site veterinary teams have sufficient food, medications, and staffing today to provide critical care?
- With reported clinical decline, when will care resources run out?
Existing Legal Authority to Act
According to the Animal Law Program, University of Toronto, Ontario Animal Welfare Services (AWS) has clear statutory authority to:
- Enter and inspect premises where animals are kept
- Obtain independent veterinary assessments
- Seize animals or arrange care for animals in distress, at the owner’s expense
See the full letter to Solicitor General Kerzner calling for immediate and transparent government action:
https://jackmanlaw.utoronto.ca/animal-law-program/policy-statements-letters
This Is Not Only a Marine Mammal Issue
While public attention has focused on the remaining cetaceans, available records and observations suggest a substantial terrestrial animal population remains on site, including:
- A large cervid (deer) population (with estimates varying widely in public reporting)
- Multiple bears
There is no complete, publicly available animal census.
See our Animal Tracker
Animal welfare organizations and sanctuary partners report readiness to receive the terrestrial animals. These animals are logistically easier to relocate than cetaceans and may already have confirmed care placements.
This represents a ready, low-risk, high-impact intervention opportunity.
A Leadership Decision Can Open the Gate
This is not an attempt to resolve the entire marine mammal crisis at once. Authorizing the immediate transfer of terrestrial animals with confirmed placements would:
- Reduce on-site care burden
- De-risk welfare outcomes
- Allow regulatory and veterinary oversight to focus on cetaceans
- Demonstrate decisive, humane leadership
The pathway exists. A leadership decision can open the gate—at the moment when it matters most for the animals stranded at Marineland.
At present, Marineland is not participating in conversations to utilize these salvage options. Can Premier Doug Ford intervene?
Public and Professional Support for Intervention
Government intervention is supported by medical professionals and the broader community. As documented by World Animal Protection Canada, public concern is substantial:
This Is About Care—and Action—Today
The Ontario government is effectively holding the lives of the animals stranded at Marineland in its hands.
If the two belugas currently receiving emergency care do not survive, they will be added to a growing list of animal deaths for which Marineland is responsible.
Will intervention occur before that happens?
This is a system-failure moment—and systems can still be corrected.
Delays, opacity, and stalemates do not preserve neutrality; they compound harm.
Do not let silence become the final decision for these animals.
Act Now!
If you are concerned, we urge you to take one or more of the following actions immediately:
1. Share this post with your professional and community networks.
2. Contact Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Animal Welfare Services (AWS). AWS has stated that “all concerns about Marineland submitted to AWS are reviewed and assessed.”
Suggested script:
Subject: Care & Action for Marineland Animals
My name is [Your Name].
I am deeply distressed over the current situation of the animals at Marineland and am asking for immediate provincial intervention.
I know Premier Ford has publicly expressed concern for these animals; I am now asking him to exercise his existing regulatory authority to authorize the transfer of animals to confirmed care placements to ensure they have the life they deserve after so much hardship.
Phone: (Office of the Premier) +1 416-325-1941
Web Contact Form: https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/
Email:
-
- Senior Specialty Compliance Inspector, Alanna Gotziaman:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Office of the Premier: (General)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Legislative Office (Doug Ford's MPP office):
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Senior Specialty Compliance Inspector, Alanna Gotziaman:
Social Media: X (Twitter) or Instagram
-
- Premier Doug Ford: @fordnation
- Ministry of the Solicitor General (Oversight for AWS): @ONsafety
- Ontario Animal Welfare services (AWS): @ONAnimalWelfare
A History of Explotation, No Changes Yet -12/22/25
A Marineland marketing flyer, printed in 1967, labels Marineland as “Canada’s most talked about attraction”.
For decades, Marineland presented itself as “Canada’s most talked about attraction” and the “ideal family outing,” building on slogans that promised endless joy. A stark and deadly contrast exists between Marineland's idealized promises of “education, conservation, and research” and its now documented history of animal exploitation and neglect.
- "Come to Marineland" (1980–1984)
- "Where the Fun Never Stops" (1985–1988)
- "Happiness is Marineland" (1987–1992)
- "Everyone Loves Marineland" (1993–2024)
- "A Magical Place Marineland" (1995)
Understanding the Crisis
The Marineland park was built on animal exploitation. And now as the park continues in its financial crisis, the urgent risk to the animals still stranded on the site increases.
Instead of taking responsibility for the crisis, the park ownership is attempting to offload costs and ethical obligations through desperate financial and legal maneuvers:
- Accreditation Withdrawal: Marineland voluntarily withdrew from Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) in May 2017.
- Property Severance: In February 2025, the park successfully severed its property into four parcels to secure "operational credit financing," which requires the owner to remove the marine animals "expeditiously."
- Asset Liquidation: In June 2025, Marineland announced it was putting its entire collection of amusement rides up for sale, confirming a clear liquidation of its core theme park business.
- Regulatory Scrutiny: AWS has inspected Marineland over 220 times since January 2020.
- No Action Taken: The numbers and health status of the animals currently on the Marineland site is currently unknown. As funding continues to run out, the health of these animals is at critical risk.
The scale of the rescue challenge is reflected directly in the death toll. Welfare issues that were present decades ago are only continuing to escalate. Today, our research shows there may be over 500 animals remaining on the Marineland site, but we don’t know for sure.
Reference 2 | Reference 3 | Reference 4
See our animal tracking report. 
Count the Animals Now!
The situation at Marineland continues to draw significant international attention and scrutiny. Circumstances remain dire for the animals still confined on the premises, particularly as the park continues in a "critical financial state", is actively liquidating assets, and severe winter weather will continue to elevate risk to animal wellbeing.
Animal welfare organizations, animal law groups, veterinary medical associations, and members of the global community are calling for government accountability, urgent action, and reporting transparency to end the information blackout surrounding the status of the animals at Marineland.
Under Ontario law, the provincial government has primary responsibility for the welfare of captive wildlife - including both the marine and land animals still stranded at Marineland.
A recent public opinion poll conducted by World Animal Protection Canada underscores the strength of public concern and expectations for provincial leadership:
- 67% of Ontarians believe the Ontario government should take the lead in addressing the Marineland situation.
- 74% say the government's top priority should be ensuring humane treatment of the animals.
- 65% agree that the Ontario government should urgently step in to find humane solutions for the animals at Marineland.
We join the growing number of voices calling for urgent, direct action by Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services, beginning with an immediate and transparent count of all animals currently held at Marineland, accompanied by accessible and verifiable welfare records.
Help us amplify the call for a full and immediate animal count for the animals remaining stranded at Marineland by sharing this information throughout your network.
If you have any accurate, reliable, and legally-obtained information about animals at the Marineland Canada facility to share - we want to hear from you:
If your governmental, animal advocacy, or veterinary group would like to receive this report directly, please let us know.
Why Accurate Data Saves Lives — Especially for Captive Animals - 12/8/25
The days of packed crowds are over, but their confinement continues.
The days of packed crowds at Marineland are long over, but the confinement—and the crisis—continues for the animals left behind.
This video shows the conditions of Marineland, Canada as of November 2025.
Amid extended political negotiations and the policy delays of any neglect and cruelty case, it’s too easy to forget the day-to-day needs of the animals involved. Strong, accurate data and medical tracking is often their best lifeline.
Without consistent patient health and care tracking, cross-organization communication breaks down. Medical records go missing or are non-existent. Provision allocation becomes haphazard.
Since 2020, Canada’s Animal Welfare Services (AWS) has issued 33 orders against Marineland Canada. Reference 1, Reference 2
Four remain unresolved:
-
Poor water quality
-
Maintenance and repair of the water system
-
Proper record-keeping for whales and dolphins
-
Inadequate enrichment levels for dolphins, seals, and sea lions.
We are working to uncover the exact animal count, current health status, and transport readiness of every animal remaining at Marineland.
These animals cannot speak of their experience, but we can - by carefully observing, tracking, and analyzing their behavior and medical statuses - begin to understand their needs. And, begin to prepare for their rescue.
Medical recordkeeping creates the essential data tracking that allows effective advocacy for these animals’ day-to-day safety, dignity, and humane care.
The Critical Question:
What are the exact counts and health statuses of the animals remaining at Marineland today?
Help us amplify the call for full transparency on the health and welfare of the animals remaining stranded at Marineland.
If you have any accurate, reliable, and legally obtained information about animals at the Marineland Canada facility to share - we want to hear from you:
See our first Animal Tracking Report. We will publish this tracking report every 2 weeks.
If your governmental, animal advocacy, or veterinary group would like to receive this report directly, please let us know. If you have information or a resource to share that helps identify and monitor the health status of the Marineland animals - please reach out.
