🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an adorable little “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “most affectionate” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a defunct facility, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the heated discussion over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after spending their lives in enclosed habitats, have been thoroughly researched by the caretakers who interact with them daily.

After the national authorities blocked the transfer of the belugas to China, the struggling facility near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to euthanize them unless the authorities covers the cost of their survival. The nation’s marine resources official has refused that ultimatum, placing the 30 whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Sea Creatures

Researchers say that belugas’ neuroanatomy, along with their sound replication, cognitive challenges and social skills suggest they are deeply intelligent mammals – something Kristy Burgess observed first-hand.

She spent several years as a whale caretaker, a role that required building relationships of the sea creatures.

“Building up those connections over time takes a lot of consistency and a lot of affection. At the beginning, they’re very unsure of you,” she said. “Over time, you gain mutual trust. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so wonderful and rewarding.”

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so amazed by the details and unique traits in their dispositions. She formed a particular love for two female belugas with different temperaments.

“Eve accepted me. The other demanded work,” she said. “They changed the way I perceive bonding.”

Growing Opposition and Deteriorating Conditions

Her connection with the whales developed against a context of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her three years at the attraction, seven belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, passed away. In all, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a toll which the facility attributes to age-related causes, but which advocates say reflects the substandard environment in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the guests over the summer, but the former trainer says she observed directly consequences of the shutdown. “Structural materials is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are exploratory and so they pick it up and move about with chunks in their mouth. It’s upsetting to see.”

The park did not comment to a request for comment, but previously claimed: “The whales … receive far superior health care and constant care than any person in the United Kingdom, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

The former employee was fired from the facility in the spring following the demise of Eos, an sick beluga the employees had to humanely kill. She said the facility believed information of the death were disclosed to the media and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ future has left her and other caretakers in distress. She says the park’s threat to euthanize its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” endeavor, adding any attempts to euthanize even a one beluga would require “considerable staff”, trucks and heavy equipment.

“It cannot happen in hell the staff would ever do it,” she said.

She advocates for demands for the whales to be taken promptly from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In late September, Canada’s government official denied a bid to send the whales to China.

“Granting the request would have meant a ongoing existence in captivity and a return to public entertainment,” the minister commented. “As society, we know that whales should be in the sea, not in tanks for our amusement. I could not in good conscience authorize an export that would perpetuate the conditions these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s comments indicate a wider misunderstanding of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The people needs to understand these are whales that have lived entirely in confinement and they will need ongoing assistance for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As decision makers struggle to find a solution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have questionable practicality. A suggested plan called for the belugas to be released into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of nourishment for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which recently received regulatory clearance, has shown to be most controversial. The prospective facility, which includes a large area of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Proponents remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a permanent solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among trainers she’s consulted, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “simply an experiment” in the whales’ future.

Others say the possibility of a sanctuary reflects a worldwide trend away from captive facilities and could represent a workable solution in the coming months.

An official, director of the plan, said the site will replicate the mental engagement and diet the whales receive from trainers, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the medical condition of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|