‘It’s deeply saddening’: how 30 captive white whales are being used as pawns in row over animal cruelty.

The beluga known as Jelly Bean’s offspring Bertie Botts is an charming small “sweetheart”. The whale Orion – called “Onion” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “endless energy” and wiggles like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “biggest cuddle bug” with a kind nature.

Thirty captive marine mammals in a Canadian amusement park have become pawns in a struggle between a closed attraction, local and national governments and welfare campaigners.

But those closest to the whales say the impassioned discussion over their future often fails to consider the individual traits of the whales who, after living their entire lives in confinement, have been carefully observed by the humans who work with them regularly.

After the national authorities prevented the transfer of the belugas to a foreign facility, the controversial facility near Niagara Falls where they are housed warned to put them down unless the federal government covers the upkeep of their survival. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an dangerously unstable situation.

Intelligent Sea Creatures

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, cognitive challenges and communal behavior indicate they are deeply intelligent animals – something one caretaker discovered personally.

Burgess spent three years as a whale caretaker, a role that required gaining confidence of the sea creatures.

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

The trainer knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was nevertheless astounded by the details and idiosyncrasies in their characters. She developed a particular love for a pair of whales with different natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo required effort,” she said. “Each transformed the way I perceive connection.”

Growing Opposition and Facility Decline

Burgess’s relationship with the whales evolved against a background of rising activist criticism to their captivity.

During her three years at the facility, seven belugas and the park’s single killer whale, Kiska, died. In all, 19 belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the poor conditions in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the public over the summer, but the former trainer says she witnessed firsthand consequences of the cessation. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being repaired. The whales are curious and so they take pieces and move about with pieces in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a questionnaire, but earlier claimed: “The whales … obtain far higher quality veterinary services and constant supervision than any human in the Britain, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was terminated from the facility in early March following the death of Eos, an ailing beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the facility believed information of the incident were shared to the press and she was released soon after.

The uncertainty over the whales’ fate has left her and other caretakers in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “practically unfeasible” undertaking, adding any plans to humanely kill even a single beluga would require “significant personnel”, trucks and heavy equipment.

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

Burgess supports requests for the whales to be removed immediately from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and shrinking team.

In late September, the nation’s government official rejected a request to send the whales to China.

“To approve the proposal would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a return to display for amusement,” the minister stated. “As the public, we know that whales should be in the ocean, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience authorize an transfer that would continue the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the minister’s statements reveal a wider incorrect perception of the facts of life for belugas raised in confinement.

“The public needs to understand these are whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity and they will need constant supervision for the foreseeable future,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as simple as saying ‘end operations’.”

Alternative Habitat and Continuing Discussion

As authorities struggle to find a solution, proposals have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be let go into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a primary resource of sustenance for Indigenous peoples.

A planned sanctuary in the region of Nova Scotia, which now received government approval, has shown to be highly debated. The planned facility, which includes 100 acres of penned in ocean, is not yet built. Advocates remain optimistic that it could in time represent a long term solution for a number of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among caretakers she’s discussed with, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “merely an untested concept” in the whales’ future.

Different voices say the prospect of a protected habitat represents a broader global shift away from captive facilities and could represent a feasible solution in the short term.

An official, leader of the sanctuary project, said the facility will simulate the intellectual stimulation and diet the whales get from specialists, albeit in a significantly bigger environment. He said after the medical condition of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|