2026年1月26日 / 美国东部时间晚上8:25 / 美联社
加拿大最后的圈养鲸鱼在政府周一有条件批准一项将它们出口到美国的计划后，获得了暂缓死亡的机会。
渔业部长乔安妮·汤普森（Joanne Thompson）周一与安大略省尼亚加拉大瀑布市已关闭的主题公园和动物园Marineland的官员会面，讨论其将动物南移的拟议计划。该公园正与四家美国机构洽谈，以接收其30头白鲸和4只海豚。
“这是一次富有建设性的会议，我已有条件地批准了出口许可证，”汤普森在周一发布于社交媒体的声明中表示，“一旦收到Marineland提供的最终所需信息，我将签发最终许可证。”
Marineland恳求部长，反复告诉她公园资金即将耗尽。据汤普森周一写给Marineland的一封信（由加拿大通讯社获得），公园曾告知她，如果到1月30日仍未获得出口许可证，这些动物将被实施安乐死。
Marineland在一份声明中表示，它得到了汤普森对动物搬迁的支持。“我们感谢部长和加拿大政府优先考虑这些非凡海洋哺乳动物的生命，”声明称。
这一举措是在Marineland上周向联邦政府提出所谓“紧急救援方案”之后采取的。
据报道，该公园正与芝加哥谢德水族馆、亚特兰大佐治亚水族馆、康涅狄格州神秘水族馆以及拥有多个美国场馆的海洋世界（SeaWorld）进行洽谈。
2017年8月14日拍摄的加拿大安大略省尼亚加拉大瀑布市的Marineland。塔拉·沃尔顿/加拿大通讯社通过美联社提供，文件照片
安大略省省长道格·福特（Doug Ford）支持汤普森的决定。
“它们将拥有比现在更好的家园，因为它们目前生活的地方糟糕透顶，”福特在谈到这些动物时表示，“空间不够大。”
根据加拿大通讯社基于内部记录和官方声明创建的最新统计，自2019年以来，Marineland已有20头鲸鱼——1头虎鲸和19头白鲸——死亡。
去年10月，Marineland申请出口许可证，计划将其所有白鲸转移至中国珠海长隆海洋王国。汤普森拒绝了这些许可证，称不会让这些鲸鱼在圈养环境中未来仍要进行表演。
这与2019年颁布的一项禁止鲸类和海豚圈养的法律一致，尽管Marineland的动物是在该法律生效前就已被允许存在的特例。
Canada conditionally approves plan to move Marineland’s beluga whales to U.S., saving them from euthanasia
January 26, 2026 / 8:25 PM EST / AP
Canada’s last captive whales have received a reprieve from death after the government conditionally approved a plan Monday to export them to the United States.
Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson met Monday with officials from Marineland, the shuttered theme park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to talk about its proposed plan to move the animals south. The park is in discussions with four U.S. institutions to take its 30 beluga whales and four dolphins.
“It was a constructive meeting, and I provided conditional approval for export permits,” Thompson said in a statement posted on social media Monday. “I will issue the final permits once final required information is received from Marineland.”
Marineland pleaded with the minister, telling her repeatedly the park was running out of money. The park had told Thompson the animals would be euthanized if the export permits were not authorized by Jan. 30, according to a letter she wrote to Marineland on Monday, which was obtained by The Canadian Press news agency.
Marineland said in a statement that it has Thompson’s support for the relocation of the animals. “We extend our gratitude to the minister and the Canadian government for prioritizing the lives of these remarkable marine mammals,” it said.
The move comes after Marineland presented what it called an urgent rescue solution to the federal government last week.
The park is reportedly in discussions with the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld, which has several U.S. locations.
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Marineland is seen in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, on Aug. 14, 2017. Tara Walton/The Canadian Press via AP, File
Ontario Premier Doug Ford supported Thompson’s decision.
“They’re going to have a better home than where they are because it’s a terrible home they’re in right now,” Ford said of the animals. “It wasn’t large enough.”
Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at Marineland since 2019, according to an ongoing tally created by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements.
In October, Marineland applied for export permits to move its complement of belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China. Thompson denied those permits, saying she would not subject the whales to a future performing in captivity.
That is consistent with a 2019 law that banned whale and dolphin captivity, though Marineland’s animals were grandfathered in.
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