BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — There’s new hope for some of the whales still living at Marineland in Niagara Falls as The Whale Sanctuary Project will now have a refuge in Nova Scotia.
It has been weeks since Marineland Canada threatened to euthanize whales due to funding issues.
This new sanctuary would be able to take in some of the whales still in captivity at Marineland, but the situation remains urgent, and there are still some unknowns.
“We have 30 beluga whales that are really threatened by Marineland with euthanasia in the last few days, last couple of weeks, so this requires a real crisis approach moving forward,” said Charles Vinick, CEO of The Whale Sanctuary Project.
“It’s about a three-kilometer bay on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia where it’s quite rural,” said Vinick. ”We’re netting off 100 acres of that bay where we have a wharf where there’s an island that protects the area we’re netting off.”
Kaitlyn Mitchell, the director of legal advocacy for Animal Rights Canada, said: “It would allow them to swim in vast distances, allow them to use their echolocation skills, really to experience life as they’ve never experienced it before.”
After years in the works, Vinick said they’re moving forward with construction and hoping to welcome whales next summer.
“We now have the lease for the water space where the nets will be anchored, and we have the private land that we’re purchasing for all the infrastructure. It’s more than a $15 million project,” said Vinick. “It’s a tall order, but it can be done.”
While this new sanctuary would give 8-10 of these whales a second chance, Marineland owns the animals and would need to agree to the transport, unless the government steps in.
“It would be in their best interest to endure the stress of transport because in the end, they’ll get to live in such a beautiful, beautiful environment,” said Mitchell.
“We really do need the Ontario government to step up here because more needs to be done to protect them now and to provide care for them now,” said Mitchell. “They could even take possession of them, even if they remain physically at Marineland, and at that point, the government would have a little more say.”
Thursday, the Minister of Fisheries, Joanne Thompson, said in a statement that she is happy to hear solutions being brought forward and will review any export requests made.
“We look forward to working hand in hand with Marineland to welcome as many of these belugas as we can,” said Vinick. “We have not been in contact with them recently; we would like to be again.”
WIVB News 4 has reached out to Marineland for comment and has yet to hear back. If you’d like to donate to The Whale Sanctuary Project or learn more about its plan moving forward, you can click here.
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Angelica Gallagher is a Lancaster native who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work here.
