It has been 4 years (2020) since the province was forced via public outcry to investigate the conditions at Niagara Falls “entertainment” facility Marineland. Mammals were living in inhumane conditions, poor water quality and showing signs of deep psychological distress. The investigation that commenced in 2020 has resulted in 32 order, as of Oct 2024, 28 of those orders have been remedied. Animal Welfare Services will not release their findings and resulting orders.
In February 2023, The Canadian Press filed a request with the government seeking access to inspection reports and orders issued to Marineland, plus a copy of a 65-page government-commissioned report on the state of water at the park.
Two weeks later, the request was denied in full, citing exemptions that said the information could interfere with law enforcement and was subject to solicitor-client privilege. A third exemption said releasing the records would be an “unjustified invasion of personal privacy.” The Canadian Press appealed the case to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. In September of last year, the government agreed to provide some of the information. Marineland appealed the decision, which meant that the records were not released.
In May, the freedom-of-information office agreed to release more than 500 pages of records. Among those were supposed to be copies of 28 orders issued to Marineland and 12 government reports about the park. Marineland again appealed. The Canadian Press has been banned from the property.
The concerns of animal welfare at Marineland go back much further than 2020. Activists have protested conditions at MarineLand for decades.
In 2016, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) charged Marineland with five counts of animal cruelty over the improper care of black bears, guinea hens, and a peacock. In 2017, the OSPCA laid six additional charges over the poor treatment of elk and deer. Shockingly, the Crown later dropped those charges.
Since 2019, 16 beluga whales and 1 killer whale has died at Marineland.
In March, 2023, Kiska the last captive orca in Canada succumbed to a bacterial infection. In the previous twelve years she was kept alone, most of that time in a warehouse without access to the outdoors. She wound up finally in an outside tank, but without any companions. Orcas, like most dolphins, are not solitary animals – they thrive in extended families with their mothers, brothers and sisters for most of their lives. Keeping Kiska in solitary confinement was especially cruel. There are videos on YouTube showing Kiska repeatedly banging her head against the side of her tank. This behaviour signifies deep distress.
So we ask…why is Marineland allowed to continue to operate?
Why are our animal welfare laws not strengthened and our enforcement authorities not empowered to act decisively sending a clear message to people/corporations that mistreat and abuse animals that this will not be tolerated in Ontario?
Why do we, the taxpayers of Ontario continue tolerating this continued lack of transparency? They work for us! They answer to us!
UPDATE JULY 2025 – ANIMAL JUSTICE FILES A NEW COMPLAINT AS NEGLECT CONTNUES: