🔗 Share this article

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie Botts is an adorable little “sweetheart”. Orion – called “Onion Ring” – is a sizeable but fiercely protective friend. Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet the beluga is the “loving presence” with a heart of gold.

Thirty enclosed beluga whales in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a struggle between a closed attraction, public officials and welfare campaigners.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated controversy over their fate often fails to consider the complexities of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who work with them regularly.

After the federal government prevented the sale of the belugas to China, the struggling amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are held stated it would consider to end their lives unless the government pays for the cost of their care. The nation’s fisheries minister has rejected that demand, placing the thirty whales in an increasingly precarious position.

Highly Cognitive Marine Mammals

Experts say that belugas’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, problem solving and social skills suggest they are remarkably smart creatures – something one caretaker observed first-hand.

Burgess spent three years as a beluga trainer, a role that entailed gaining confidence of the aquatic animals.

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of love. At the start, they’re very cautious of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more open with you. It’s just so extraordinary and fulfilling.”

Burgess knew the whales were highly intelligent, but she says she was even so astounded by the subtleties and quirks in their personalities. She developed a particular love for two female belugas with different natures.

“One whale accepted me. The other made me earn it,” she said. “They altered the way I understand connection.”

Public Concerns and Facility Decline

Burgess’s connection with the whales evolved against a background of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the park, multiple belugas and the park’s one killer whale, the orca, succumbed. In all, nineteen belugas have perished at the park since 2019, a toll which the facility ascribes to expected lifespan, but which advocates say reflects the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not operate to the visitors over the recent season, but Burgess says she witnessed firsthand effects of the closure. “Concrete is breaking off from the pools because they’re in disrepair and not being maintained. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and swim around with chunks in their mouth. It’s heartbreaking to see.”

The park did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier asserted: “The whales … obtain far superior medical attention and around the clock supervision than any human in the UK, or elsewhere.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the facility in early March following the death of a beluga, an sick beluga the employees had to euthanize. She said the park thought particulars of the death were leaked to the news outlets and she was let go not long after.

The lack of clarity over the whales’ fate has left Burgess and staff members in despair. She says the facility’s ultimatum to end the lives of its whales is a negotiation tactic and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any plans to put down even a individual beluga would require “significant personnel”, vehicles and machinery.

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

She backs demands for the whales to be taken immediately from the park, with its failing enclosures and dwindling staff.

In late September, Canada’s fisheries minister turned down a request to transfer the whales to China.

“Allowing the proposal would have meant a ongoing life in captivity and a reversion to performance for audiences,” the official wrote. “As society, we know that marine mammals are meant for the sea, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in good conscience approve an relocation that would continue the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But Burgess said the official’s comments reveal a broader lack of awareness of the realities of living conditions for belugas born in captivity.

“The society needs to realize these are whales that have existed solely in captivity and they will need human care for the remainder of their lives,” she said. “The public just don’t understand that it’s not as easy as saying ‘close it down’.”

Sanctuary Proposal and Ongoing Debate

As officials struggle to find a answer, suggestions have been put forward, some of which have minimal feasibility. An idea called for the belugas to be freed into the open waters of Canada’s north – where whales are a important part of sustenance for local populations.

A planned protected area in the region of eastern Canada, which has received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective facility, which includes a large area of protected cove, remains undeveloped. Supporters remain positive that it could ultimately represent a long term solution for eight of the whales.

But, Burgess says, among staff she’s consulted, there is “doubts there” about what she said is “only an trial” in the whales’ fate.

Different voices say the possibility of a refuge indicates a changing attitudes away from animal displays and could represent a feasible approach in the short term.

An official, leader of the initiative, said the site will replicate the cognitive activities and diet the whales obtain from caretakers, albeit in a more expansive space. He said after the medical condition of whales is completely examined, which could take months|an extended period|