It is heartbreaking’: the way thirty confined white whales have become pawns in row over animal cruelty.

Jelly Bean’s daughter Bertie is an charming small “playful character”. The whale Orion – nicknamed “Onion Ring” – is a big but fiercely protective companion. Another whale, Zephyr has “constant motion” and sways like a wiggly creature. Lillooet is the “loving presence” with a kind nature.

Thirty enclosed marine mammals in a Canadian entertainment facility have been entangled in a tussle between a shuttered park, government authorities and animal rights activists.

But those most familiar with the whales say the heated debate over their fate often overlooks the individual traits of the whales who, after growing up in captivity, have been carefully observed by the people who see them each day.

After the Canadian government disallowed the sale of the belugas to China, the embattled amusement park near Niagara Falls where they are housed stated it would consider to put them down unless the authorities funds the expense of keeping them alive. Canada’s fisheries minister has refused that request, placing the 30 whales in an ever more uncertain circumstance.

Intelligent Marine Mammals

Researchers say that beluga whales’ brain structure, along with their mimicry abilities, intellectual tasks and group interactions indicate they are highly cognitive animals – something Kristy Burgess learned first-hand.

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

“Building up those relationships over time takes a lot of dedication and a lot of care. At the start, they’re very wary of you,” she said. “Eventually, you gain reciprocal understanding. And they start being more trusting with you. It’s just so magical and gratifying.”

The trainer knew the whales were very smart, but she says she was nevertheless amazed by the nuances and unique traits in their personalities. She cultivated a particular love for two female belugas with contrasting natures.

“Eve selected me. Cleo demanded work,” she said. “Each altered the way I perceive connection.”

Public Concerns and Deteriorating Conditions

Burgess’s interaction with the whales progressed against a backdrop of growing public opposition to their captivity.

During her tenure at the facility, multiple belugas and the park’s single orca, Kiska, passed away. In total, nineteen belugas have died at the park since 2019, a statistic which the park ascribes to natural mortality, but which advocates say points to the inadequate care in which they were housed.

The facility did not open to the visitors over the recent season, but the former trainer says she saw with her own eyes effects of the shutdown. “Concrete is deteriorating from the tanks because they’re degrading and not being fixed. The whales are exploratory and so they take pieces and move about with chunks in their jaws. It’s upsetting to see.”

The facility did not respond to a request for comment, but previously asserted: “The whales … obtain far higher quality health care and around the clock supervision than any individual in the UK, or anywhere else.”

Uncertain Future and Potential Resolutions

Burgess was dismissed from the park in the spring following the death of Eos, an sick beluga the caretakers had to euthanize. She said the park thought information of the death were disclosed to the media and she was fired shortly thereafter.

The ambiguity over the whales’ outcome has left Burgess and staff members in anguish. She says the facility’s ultimatum to kill its whales is a leverage tool and is a “extremely difficult” endeavor, adding any plans to euthanize even a one beluga would require “immense personnel”, vehicles and heavy equipment.

“There’s no way in hell the employees would ever do it,” she said.

She supports calls for the whales to be removed right away from the facility, with its crumbling tanks and reduced personnel.

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

“To approve the application would have meant a ongoing existence in confinement and a return to public entertainment,” the minister wrote. “As the public, we know that belugas belong in the wild, not in pools for our amusement. I could not in clear conscience approve an export that would perpetuate the treatment these belugas have endured.”

But the former trainer said the minister’s remarks indicate a broader incorrect perception of the realities of life for belugas living their whole lives in enclosures.

“The public needs to realize these are whales that have spent their whole lives in enclosed habitats and they will need constant supervision for the rest of their years,” she said. “The public just don’t realize that it’s not as easy as saying ‘shut it down’.”

Alternative Habitat and Ongoing Debate

As officials attempt to find a answer, proposals have surfaced, some of which have little basis in reality. One proposal called for the belugas to be let go into the wilds of northern regions – where whales are a primary resource of food for Indigenous peoples.

A suggested protected area in the province of eastern Canada, which recently received official endorsement, has shown to be highly debated. The prospective location, which includes a large area of enclosed sea water, is not yet built. Supporters remain optimistic that it could ultimately represent a permanent resolution for eight of the whales.

But, the former trainer says, among trainers she’s discussed with, there is “no trust there” about what she said is “only an untested concept” in the whales’ well-being.

Others say the possibility of a refuge reflects a changing attitudes away from zoos and aquariums and could represent a viable solution in the short term.

Charles Vinick, leader of the plan, said the location will mimic the mental engagement and nutrition the whales obtain from trainers, albeit in a much larger space. He said after the health of whales is fully assessed, which could take months|an extended period|