Marineland of Canada

Marineland, a marine/amusement park located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is one of the most widely publicized and controversial captive facilities in Canada.

Established more than four decades ago, Marineland has been the target of intense local, regional and international criticism for keeping whales (they currently house the largest group of captive belugas in the world), dolphins and pinnipeds; for its ongoing removal of significant numbers of whales, dolphins and pinnipeds from the wild; and for providing their terrestrial animal species with barren, often overcrowded conditions.

Zoocheck has conducted numerous investigations and highlighted problematic conditions and practices at Marineland to relevant local, regional and national authorities, media and the public.

Zoocheck has also lobbied for a provincial zoo licensing act, that would include standards of housing and care for captive facilities, and for a federal restriction on the importation of marine mammmals for public display. Those initiatives are ongoing.

Marineland Cetacean Inventory