Marineland Was Charged For Allegedly Using Dolphins & Whales As Illegal Entertainment
Niagara Regional Police confirmed their charges on Monday.
Charges have now officially been laid against Marineland for allegedly using whales and dolphins for shows.
In a news release posted on December 13, Niagara Regional Police Service report two of their district detectives conducted an investigation in October that looked into the allegations of the use of captive cetaceans — dolphins, whales, or porpoises — at Marineland.
"During the investigation, it was found that the dolphins and whales were utilized for entertainment purposes during the month of August, without being authorized to do so following an amendment to the Criminal Code under Bill S-203 on June 21, 2019," police officials wrote
On Monday, detectives charged Marineland for its alleged use of whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes without authorization to do so.
BREAKING: MarineLand has been officially charged in criminal breach of bill S-203, a ban on whale and dolphin performances. We did it!! #SaveSmooshi #FreeKiska— Phil Demers (@Phil Demers) 1639407156
In an emailed statement to Narcity, Marineland shared that their "animal presentation contains marine mammals undertaking behaviours they exhibit in ocean environments", which are then coupled up with an "educational script" by their employees.
"Marineland understands why ideologically driven activists would file a police complaint, and appreciates the pressure the Niagara Regional Police were put under to lay such a charge," Marineland's Marketing Department wrote.
"We look forward to the opportunity to defend ourselves in a court of law where the feelings of non-experts are not treated as facts and the truth prevails."
The aquatic park noted that it's not the first time "an organization has applied unreasonable political pressure to use policing powers" against them.
"We regret that the Niagara Regional Police have found themselves in this position, and anticipate, as happened the last time activists successfully exerted pressure in this way, the courts will find Marineland to be not guilty, as a matter of law," they wrote.
Earlier this year, Animal Welfare Services reportedly carried out a months-long investigation of the aquatic park and discovered that Marineland's animals were in distress due to the poor water quality in their water tanks, according to the Canadian Press.