🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming small “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion” – is a big but fiercely protective friend. Another whale, Zephyr has “ants in his pants” and sways like a worm. Lillooet the beluga is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a heart of gold.

A group of thirty captive beluga whales in a Canada-based entertainment facility have been caught in a disagreement between a shuttered park, government authorities and welfare campaigners.

But those working directly with the whales say the heated discussion over their destiny often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after spending their lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the caretakers who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed threatened to euthanize them unless the government funds the cost of their survival. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that ultimatum, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their vocal imitation skills, problem solving and group interactions suggest they are highly cognitive animals – something one caretaker learned directly.

Burgess spent several years as a marine mammal specialist, a position that entailed earning the trust of the sea creatures.

“Developing those relationships over time takes a lot of regularity and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “In time, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more vulnerable with you. It’s just so magical and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nonetheless amazed by the nuances and quirks in their characters. She formed a special affection for Eve and Cleopatra with opposing natures.

“Eve selected me. The other required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I view connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Her interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of rising activist criticism to their enclosure.

During her time at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, died. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since recent years, a statistic which the facility links to natural mortality, but which advocates say indicates the poor conditions in which they were kept.

The facility did not open to the public over the recent season, but Burgess says she observed directly effects of the shutdown. “Structural materials is falling apart from the enclosures because they’re falling apart and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they pick it up and swim around with pieces in their mouth. It’s distressing to see.”

The facility did not comment to a request for comment, but in the past asserted: “The whales … get far superior medical attention and constant supervision than any individual in the United Kingdom, or other places.”

Uncertain Future and Proposed Solutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in early March following the demise of Eos, an unwell beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park believed details of the incident were disclosed to the news outlets and she was fired not long after.

The ambiguity over the whales’ fate has left her and current and former trainers in anguish. She says the park’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any plans to humanely kill even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

“It’s impossible in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

Burgess backs requests for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and reduced personnel.

In the autumn, the nation’s fisheries minister rejected a request to export the whales to China.

“To approve the request would have meant a perpetual life in enclosure and a return to display for amusement,” the official wrote. “As the public, we know that whales belong in the wild, not in enclosures for our enjoyment. I could not in ethical standing approve an transfer that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have experienced.”

But the former trainer said the official’s statements reflect a more general misunderstanding of the facts of existence for belugas born in captivity.

“The people needs to grasp these are whales that have lived entirely in captivity and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “Many just don’t realize that it’s not as straightforward as saying ‘close it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As officials attempt to find a resolution, suggestions have emerged, some of which have minimal feasibility. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A proposed protected area in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received regulatory clearance, has shown to be highly debated. The future facility, which includes extensive space of enclosed sea water, doesn’t yet exist. Proponents remain hopeful that it could in time represent a long term solution for some of the whales.

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

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat indicates a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a feasible plan in the coming months.

An official, leader of the plan, said the location will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales get from specialists, albeit in a more expansive area. He said after the health of whales is thoroughly evaluated, which could take months|an extended period|