Marineland of Canada

History

The park was founded by John Holer, a Slovenian immigrant who had worked for circuses in Europe before coming to Canada in the late 1950s. It first opened in 1961 as "Marine Wonderland and Animal Farm". Holer welded two large steel tanks together and brought in three sea lions and charged one quarter for admission and another to feed the animals. The attraction also featured an underwater show featuring two female swimmers. In 1964 Holer added two dolphins, along with a few other animals and the attraction became known as "Marineland And Game Farm". By 1966, a 2,000 seat "aquatheatre" was completed along with a "grotto" of aquariums and shops. In the 1970s Kandu the killer whale became the park's major attraction and the "And Game Farm" part of the name was dropped, although it was still referred to as "Marineland And Game Farm" until the late 1970s in television and radio advertisements. It was also around this time that the park began adding rides such as Dragon Mountain (1983) and Sky Screamer to attract teenagers and younger children.

The primary attractions advertised by the company for the 2017 season (to start 20 May) include dolphins, walruses and, sea lions, a killer whale, beluga whales and rides such as "the world's largest steel roller coaster", Dragon Mountain and "the world's highest triple tower ride", Sky Screamer.

Future

Issues that may affect the future of parks such as this include the 28 May 28 2015 passing of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act in Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Act prohibits the acquisition or breeding of Orcas in Ontario.

As well, controversy about the treatment of animals by Marineland Canada has been rampant, resulting in negative publicity.

On 25 November 2016 and subsequently on 9 January 2017, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) charged Marineland with five counts of animal cruelty, and then another six counts. Both sets of charges were extensively covered by the news media.

Attractions

Marineland is open from the Victoria Day weekend through to Canadian Thanksgiving weekend in October. Rides operate until nightfall.

Animal exhibits

Living arrangements are:

A (Front) Pool: 12: Burnaby, Eve, Horus, Jellybean, Orion, Qila, Neva, Mira, Gia, Osiris, Rain, and Tuk

B (Side) Pool: 1 Kiska

C Medical Pool: Open to Kiska

Living arrangements are:

"A" (Front) Pool: 24: Andre, Kodiak, Tank, Isis and Titan, Skyla and Jetta, Ivy, Acadia and Sahara, Aurora and Kharabali, Frankie, Xavier, Ruby, Yara, Wink, Gemini, Secord and Havok, Lillooet and Nahanni, and Kelowna and Skara

"B" (Side/Baby Cove) Pool: 14: Xena and Calf, Sierra and Calf, Jubilee and Calf, Meeka and Calf, Peekachu and Calf, Caspian and Calf, and Cleo and Calf

"C" Medical Pool: 0: Empty,

Living Arrangements:

Left (Side) Pool: Dolphins: 5: Tsunami, Echo, Lida, Sonar and Marina

Right (Side) Pool: Beluga Whales: 2: Charmin and Tofino

Backstage: Female California SeaLions: 5: Holly, Malibu, Sydney, Maui, Cleveland

Backstage: Walruses: Buttercup, Apollo, Sonja, Zeus and Smooshi

Harbor Seals: 6: Curry, Poppy, Baby, Squamish Larry and Rolo (located back stage)

California Sealions: 3: Pebbles, Coral, Surfer

Grey Seal: Delphine

California Sealions: 5: Holly, Malibu, Sydney, Maui, Cleveland

Walruses: 5: Apollo, Smooshi, Sonja, Zeus and Buttercup Dolphins(winter): 5: Lida, Echo, Tsunami, Sonar, and Marina

Rides

Controversies

Marineland and its owner John Holer have been involved in many controversies throughout the park's history. Most have centred around the concerns of animals rights activists and some politicians, who have expressed concerns about the treatment of animals at the park for many years.

In 1977, The U.S. Department of Fisheries seized six bottlenose dolphins that had been illegally caught by John Holer in the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2001, a member of Parliament, Libby Davies, tabled a private member's bill which aimed to ban the live-capture and trade of whales and dolphins. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans commissioned a scientific study, but Minister Herb Dhaliwal chose not to act on any of the recommendations.

In September 2011, SeaWorld won a court battle with Marineland over the fate of Ikaika the Killer Whale. Ikaika had been originally loaned to Marineland under the terms of a breeding loan agreement between the two organizations, but SeaWorld decided to terminate the agreement due to concerns about Ikaika's mental and physical well-being due to deteriorating conditions at the park. Marineland initially refused to return Ikaika, but was eventually ordered to by the Ontario Superior Court as well as pay $255,000 in compensation to SeaWorld for legal expenses.

On August 15, 2012, the Toronto Star published an article alleging that many sea mammals at Marineland live in inhumane conditions and suffer from a variety of illnesses caused by problems with water quality and chronic understaffing. Holer denied the allegations in the report, which was largely based on interviews conducted with former Marineland employees. The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) declined to press charges, but did order changes in park procedures that were then implemented by Marineland.

On September 10, 2012 the Toronto Star published an article quoting former Marineland supervisor Jim Hammond alleging that Marineland owner, John Holer, had shot one of the baby deer in his park through the windpipe with a 12-gauge shotgun, leaving it to choke on its blood without dying. Hammond claimed the park owner refused his pleas for humane euthanasia.

On December 20, 2012 the Ontario Ministry of the Environment announced an investigation into several mass animal graves at the park. The ministry had no previous knowledge of the graves, as Marineland lacks permits for such use.

On March 5, 2013, the Toronto Star published an article quoting Hammond and a local resident alleging that John Holer had shot two Labrador Retrievers that had escaped a neighbour's house and entered Marineland property. The article also mentioned that Hammond was told by Holer “to check if there were any collars . . . around their necks and if there were, to remove them.”

In September 2013, it was reported that the Ontario Veterinary College was investigating an unspecified number of veterinarians at Marineland.

Also in 2013, OSPCA investigated the claims of some former employees of Marineland claimed that the animals' health was being put at risk by low water quality. OSPCA used the results of the investigation to make suggestions to the subsequent provincial review of its animal welfare laws.

Beluga whale deaths

A beluga whale died in 2000.

Sasha, a beluga whale born in 2008 at Marineland died around October 10, 2011, several days before the off season.

In May 2012, a 9-month old beluga, Scoot, born to Skyla, succumbed to its injuries after a two-hour attack by two adult males in a shared tank. Only an untrained guide was on hand to try to stop the attack. It took trainers two hours to arrive to the aid of the baby beluga. By that time, the calf had already died.

Charlotte and Luna, two calves born to Kelowna and Lilloet in 2009 and 2012 respectively, died in November 2012 and late 2013 respectively. Charlotte had a rare metabolic disorder, and the cause of Luna's death is still unknown.

Killer whale deaths

The following is a list of dead killer whales who were at Marineland:

Black Water lawsuit

On May 10, 2016, Marineland filed a lawsuit against filmmaker Zach Affolter to prevent the release of his documentary, Black Water. The park alleges that the film contains footage illegally taken at Marineland, and is a violation of their policy preventing the use of footage for commercial purposes. Affolter responded by asserting that "Black Water is meant as an educational, non-commercial film that dives into the moral question behind keeping cetaceans in captivity."

Ontario SPCA charges

In 2012, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) received complaints of animal abuse at the park from former employees and issued orders to Marineland as to the standard of care they should be following. At that time, a full investigation was not conducted. On 10 November 2016, however, the agency received a formal 35-page complaint - compiled by a California-based group Last Chance for Animals - which included photographs and videos taken by a former Marineland employee whose identity has not been revealed to the public. (The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the complaint file which was reviewed by some members of the news media; only excerpts have been published.) At that time, the OSPCA began an investigation of possible animal abuse at the park using its staff and a veterinarian.

No animals were removed at that time, as investigators did not find them to be in immediate distress. But according to a statement released by OSPCA, the agency would be "continuing to make sure that the animals are getting the care they require while this investigation is ongoing." On 25 November 2016, the OSPCA charged Marineland with five counts of animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA Act over their treatment of peafowls, guineafowls, and American black bears in the zoo portion of the park. The Ontario SPCA alleged that the animals were distressed and did not receive the required standard of care from Marineland. The company denied the allegations.

Marineland also provided a statement to The Canadian Press: "(Last Chance for Animals) is working together with the fired former employee to exact revenge over his firing and advance their radical cause and goal to shut Marineland." The company also posted a commentary on their Web site indicating that it is "being attacked by disgruntled former employees again, who are working with a professional activist group that raises just under $2 million dollars per year to share their distorted view of facts about others." The post indicated that the company would "vigorously defend ourselves against these charges laid by the OSPCA".

Six additional counts of animal cruelty were laid by the OSPCA on 9 January 2017. None of the allegations or charges have been proven in court. The new charges related to the treatment of elk, red deer and fallow deer. Deputy chief Jennifer Bluhm of the OSPCA provided the following comment: "While the investigation is still ongoing, these are all the charges we expect to be laid in this case." On previous occasions, Marineland had stated that it would defend against charges in court. The company's first appearance to plead to the charges was set for 26 January 2017.

On the same day, Marineland posted another response on its web site, critical of the OSPCA handling of the investigation and the charges, including the following comment: "We believe the OSPCA is continuing a publicity campaign at the behest of a band of discredited activists with little relevant expertise or knowledge, in an effort to avoid further embarrassment related to an ongoing investigation into the OSPCA’s perceived failure to protect animals that is being led by the same activists they are now firmly in bed with. ... We will hold the OSPCA to the high standards of Ontario’s legal system and require them to defend their charges to the fullest extent possible."

Advertising

Marineland's main advertising comes through a series of commercials with the jingle "Everyone Loves Marineland". Marineland has also used other slogans over the years in its advertising:

Services