Last Chance for Animals joins lawsuit with Friends of Animals to stop the transfer of 5 Beluga Whales from Marineland Canada to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
SIGN HERE: Stop Marineland from exporting belugas whales to the United States!
LCA joined a lawsuit launched by
Friends of Animals (FoA), an
international animal advocacy organization, against the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) to stop the transfer of five Beluga whales from
Marineland in Niagra Falls to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. LCA will be
joining the lawsuit as co-plaintiff.
Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut was issued a permit by NMFS to import five
Beluga whales from Marineland Canada. The permit is valid until August 31,
2025. Transferring the whales would require a difficult journey of over 10
hours by multiple means of transportation. Further, the transportation of
the whales from Marineland to Mystic would create stress, and destroy the
social bonds the whales have already formed at Marineland.
Under the five year term of the permit, breeding the Beluga whales is
prohibited; however, these restrictions will only last five years. Breeding
the Beluga whales in Canada would violate the Criminal Code which
criminalizes the breeding of captive cetaceans. Moving the whales to Mystic
would take them out of the important, hard-fought protections of Bill S-203
and leave them vulnerable to breeding and thereby perpetuating the cycle of
captivity of these majestic creatures. The Canadian government has not
announced a decision on whether it will allow Marineland to export the
whales.
"Transferring these intelligent and sentient animals from one aquarium to
another only benefit the aquariums," said Chris DeRose, President, and
Founder of Last Chance for Animals. The best, most humane course of action
would be for the whales to have one final transfer to a sanctuary, where
they can live out their days free from discomfort, captive breeding, and
research."
The suit, entitled Friends of Animals and Last Chance for Animals v. Wilbur
Ross and National Marine Fisheries Service was filed at the United States
District Court, District of Connecticut. Case file number: No.
3:20-cv-01312-AWT.
Mystic would be purchasing these whales with the Georgia Aquarium. The
Georiga Aquarium did not have to complete an application for the permit to
be issued.
LCA strongly believes whales should not be kept in captivity and is calling
on the governments of both Canada and the United States to prevent this
harmful transfer of Beluga whales from Marineland Canada to Mystic Aquarium.
LCA believes the transfer would cause undue stress and prolong the suffering
of captive whales by allowing breeding at the expiration date of the permit,
which will thereby allow the suffering of captive cetaceans to perpetuate.
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