This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: When Marineland Canada in Niagara Falls, Ontario, closed in September 2024, it had no regular income to support the care of the 30 belugas and four dolphins housed there. To ensure their welfare, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums led an international effort to relocate the animals to the United States and Spain.
After the move, however, one resident beluga and three transplanted belugas died at a U.S. facility, while one beluga died at a Spanish facility. Proponents of whale sanctuaries called for the Canadian belugas to be placed in netted ocean pens, arguing that these environments better suit them. Sanctuaries may seem like the easiest solution for displaced whales and dolphins—collectively called cetaceans.
However, these ocean pens have their own challenges and aren't always the best fit. A cetacean sanctuary is an ocean enclosure made of nets that provides animals with a large habitat. But this model isn't defined only by its environment.
It's also defined by a philosophy emphasizing no breeding, reduced human interaction and nonprofit funding. Currently, there are no active cetacean sanctuaries anywhere in the world operating with animals under these standards. In specific circumstances, sanctuaries could provide a home for animals vulnerable in the wild, while preserving some of their autonomy.
But for an animal that has never seen the ocean, a sanctuary isn't automatically a good fit. What is natural for wild cetaceans isn't necessarily natural for managed cetaceans. As a cetacean biologist, I have over 20 years of experience working with animals in the wild as well as in professional care.
My work has focused on understanding the welfare of these animals as individuals, and I've seen how wild and managed animals can differ. Moving a cetacean that was born in, or has spent years in, human care into an unfamiliar sea pen can create challenges. The word "sanctuary" carries an emotional appeal, but a sanctuary is still a form of captivity.
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