It is heartbreaking’: how thirty confined white whales are being used as tools in dispute over animal welfare.
Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an adorable little “playful character”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but very loyal companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.
A group of thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have become pawns in a struggle between a defunct facility, public officials and welfare campaigners.
But those most familiar with the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in enclosed habitats, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who see them each day.
After the national authorities disallowed the transfer of the belugas to China, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are kept threatened to end their lives unless the federal government covers the upkeep of their care. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that demand, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.
Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures
Experts say that beluga whales’ neural makeup, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and communal behavior indicate they are highly cognitive animals – something Kristy Burgess learned personally.
She spent three years as a beluga trainer, a position that involved building relationships of the sea creatures.
“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of care. At the outset, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”
The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the subtleties and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting natures.
“One whale chose me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each altered the way I view relationships.”
Growing Opposition and Facility Decline
Her interaction with the whales progressed against a context of increasing societal concern to their enclosure.
During her tenure at the park, seven belugas and the park’s single orca, the orca, died. In all, 19 belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility links to natural mortality, but which activists say indicates the poor conditions in which they were maintained.
The facility did not admit visitors to the visitors over the summer, but Burgess says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being repaired. The whales are inquisitive and so they pick it up and swim around with fragments in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”
The facility did not reply to a questionnaire, but previously asserted: “The whales … get far superior veterinary services and 24/7 care than any individual in the UK, or other places.”
Fate in Limbo and Potential Resolutions
The former employee was terminated from the facility in early March following the demise of a beluga, an sick beluga the park staff had to humanely kill. She said the park suspected information of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was released shortly thereafter.
The ambiguity over the whales’ future has left Burgess and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s warning to euthanize its whales is a bargaining chip and is a “extremely difficult” task, adding any plans to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “immense manpower”, equipment and heavy equipment.
“It cannot happen in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.
She backs requests for the whales to be transferred promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and shrinking team.
In recent months, the nation’s government official rejected a proposal to transfer the whales to an overseas location.
“To approve the proposal would have meant a continued existence in confinement and a return to performance for audiences,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that whales should be in the ocean, not in pools for our entertainment. I could not in ethical standing authorize an relocation that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”
But Burgess said the official’s comments reveal a more general lack of awareness of the facts of existence for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.
“The people needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”
Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate
As officials work to find a answer, ideas have surfaced, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be released into the wilds of the Arctic – where whales are a primary resource of nourishment for local populations.
A planned protected area in the province of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has proven contentious. The prospective facility, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, doesn’t yet exist. Advocates remain hopeful that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.
But, the former trainer says, among staff she’s discussed with, there is “skepticism there” about what she said is “simply an trial” in the whales’ well-being.
Others say the possibility of a protected habitat reflects a broader global shift away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the short term.
Charles Vinick, director of the initiative, said the facility will simulate the intellectual stimulation and feeding regimen the whales receive from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger area. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|
