Marine mammals die after move from defunct Canada theme park

A growing number of marine mammals have died after being transferred out of a shuttered Canadian theme park, with a dolphin in Spain becoming the latest victim.

Echo the dolphin had arrived from Canada's Marineland with "severe vision problems and other pre-existing medical conditions," said the Oceanografic aquarium in Valencia on Thursday.

Four belugas from the Canadian park, which closed in 2024, have died in recent weeks -- one in Valencia and three at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium.

Canadian media has closely followed the saga of Marineland's closure and the fate of its over-two-dozen belugas and dolphins.

The once-popular theme park, located near Niagara Falls, had claimed it could no longer afford to care for the animals after its closure, and said they would need to be euthanized if permission was not granted for their transfer.

The park had been mired in controversy for years. Twenty animals, including 19 belugas, died there between 2019 and 2025, according to a tally by The Canadian Press.

Phil Demers, a former trainer at the park who has become a whistleblower, told AFP on Thursday he was not surprised by the recent deaths, which he said stemmed from their "poor living conditions" at Marineland.

"The animals were already sick before they were transferred," Demers said, predicting more deaths will follow.

"It's a disaster," he added.