Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) entered into a cooperative agreement with SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium, and John G. Shedd Aquarium to import 28 beluga whales into the United States from Marineland of Canada for emergency medical care.

The rescue comes two years after the amusement park/aquarium closed to the public. Concerns about conditions at Marineland had grown steadily prior to it shuttering. Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — had died at the park since 2019, according to internal records and official statements.

Friends of Animals is appalled that NOAA failed to require an agreement prohibiting the aquariums from breeding the belugas. “If the purpose of this import is to provide lifesaving medical care, there is no justification for allowing these whales to breed,” said Andreia Marcuccio, senior associate attorney for Friends of Animals.  “Research shows that captive breeding of cetaceans causes significant harm to the animals, increases the take of wild cetaceans, and provides no meaningful conservation or research benefit.

“Allowing these belugas to reproduce would create a new generation of whales born into lifelong suffering for entertainment.”

In addition to condemning more whales to the misery of captivity, what’s also troubling about breeding these belugas is the evidence demonstrating that belugas from Marineland appear to be genetically predisposed to storage disease, a condition that likely contributed to the deaths of two belugas imported from Marineland to Mystic Aquarium in 2021.

“It’s disheartening that the Canadian government did not seriously consider sending these whales to a sanctuary,” Marcuccio added. “Canada and the U.S. should have prioritized a solution that provides the whales with necessary medical care while giving them the opportunity to live in the most natural environment possible.”