Dolphinariums and Marine Parks: Why We Do Not Visit

I understand the pull of a dolphin show, because I also grew up loving these animals. But I keep coming back to the same thought: what does that animal’s day look like when the music stops, and where does it go when the park closes?

So why do we not visit dolphinariums, SeaWorld-style parks or marine parks with belugas? Because many scientists, welfare groups and now several governments judge that a tank cannot meet the needs of whales and dolphins. And the newest chapter, the Marineland belugas, shows how hard it is to fix things once a park fails.

Is life in a tank good for whales and dolphins?

Whales and dolphins are social animals that range over large distances. A pool, however clean, is a very different space from an ocean. A recent review of captive cetacean welfare, published in the open-access archive PubMed Central, shows that the scientific debate about captivity is still active, and that welfare is difficult to measure. Welfare organisations such as the Animal Welfare Institute argue that captive animals swim far less and die younger than wild ones. I have not been able to verify their exact numbers myself, so I will not repeat them here. Please read advocacy figures as one side of a debate, and read the review if you want the evidence in detail.

What I can say honestly is that the question has moved from “is it good?” to “can it be done well at all?”. For many of us, if the answer is uncertain, the kinder choice is simply not to buy a ticket.

The laws: Canada, France and SeaWorld

Canada’s Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act received royal assent on 21 June 2019. It phases out keeping and breeding whales, dolphins and porpoises. Reports differ about the exceptions. Senate material describes them as rescue and rehabilitation, licensed scientific research, or the animal’s best interests, and animals already in captivity were allowed to stay. If you need the precise wording, read the statute itself.

France’s 2021 animal welfare law bans shows with cetaceans and keeping and breeding them for entertainment, and bans direct contact between visitors and these animals. According to reports, the ban takes full effect on 2 December 2026. Marineland Antibes closed in January 2025, and the last captive cetaceans in France, two orcas called Wikie and Keijo plus twelve dolphins, are being moved. The dolphins are planned for parks in Valencia and Málaga, and the orcas for Loro Parque in Tenerife. Welfare groups say this moves the problem to another park instead of solving it. A government report had considered a sea sanctuary in Nova Scotia as one option. I do not know how these moves will end, and I would rather say so than guess.

In the United States, SeaWorld announced in 2016 that it would end its orca breeding programme. That decision came after years of public pressure, and it is a good example of how visitors’ choices can change a business.

The belugas of Marineland

This is the story that made me want to write this article. Marineland, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, closed to the public in September 2024 while still holding around thirty beluga whales and some dolphins. The park said it could no longer afford their care. In 2025 the Canadian government refused a request to export the belugas to a park in China, saying it was not in the whales’ best interests.

In 2026 some of the belugas were moved to aquariums in the United States and Spain. In the weeks after, several of them died. By early October 2026, reports counted at least four former Marineland belugas that had died at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago: Peekachu, Rain, Osiris and Caspian. A beluga called Jelly Bean and a dolphin called Echo also died at Oceanogràfic Valencia. Shedd says necropsies found chronic, pre-existing disease and no evidence of infectious disease, but it has not named a cause of death. The Canadian fisheries minister’s office said some animals had foreign objects, such as large rocks, and likely paint in their stomachs that predated their time at Shedd, which it described as neglect before the move. Animal welfare groups criticised how fast the transfers happened. The aquarium describes the move as a rescue. The investigations were still open when I wrote this, and the numbers may change.

It is a sad story with no easy villain. What it shows is that when a park closes, the animals cannot simply go back to the sea, because whales born or kept in tanks may not have the skills to live in the ocean. A proposed sea sanctuary in Nova Scotia received a 20-year lease from the provincial government in 2025, but it still needs money to be built.

What about dolphin swims and “encounters”?

Swim programmes with captive dolphins are the part of this world that holiday guests are offered most often, usually in a hotel lagoon or a resort. We explain the difference in our guide to captive versus wild dolphin encounters and in our list of warning signs that a dolphin tour is chasing.

If you want to meet dolphins, look for a licensed boat that watches wild dolphins from a distance and follows the local rules. The animals decide how close to come. Sightings are never guaranteed, and that is part of what makes them honest. Wildlife encounters are unpredictable. Dolphin watching should always follow local regulations and experienced professional guidance.

Where Ocean Calling stands

We do not visit or promote dolphinariums, marine parks or captive whale and dolphin shows. Our retreats work with vetted local operators in groups of six at most, with unhurried itineraries, and guests can skip any activity. Wild dolphins are watched, never chased, fed or touched. You can read about wild belugas, orcas and bottlenose dolphins in our Ocean Atlas, and our guide to ethical swimming with dolphins explains how we think about it.

Travel has its own cost for the ocean, and I do not want to pretend otherwise. Flights and boats add emissions. That is one more reason to choose fewer, slower, better trips. If you choose a day on the water, a roll-top dry bag keeps a phone dry on a boat, a mineral sunscreen from a list like this one avoids heavy lotions in the water, and a well-fitting low-volume mask and snorkel makes quiet watching easier.

If this made you curious about experiencing it yourself, you can explore our upcoming retreats.

Questions people ask

Is it ethical to visit a marine park with dolphins or belugas?

Many scientists and welfare groups say captivity cannot meet the needs of whales and dolphins, though the scientific debate is still active. Ocean Calling does not visit or promote marine parks. Where you spend your money is the most practical vote you have.

Why can captive whales not simply be released?

Animals born or kept in tanks may lack the skills and fitness to live in the wild, and release can harm them. That is why closed parks and sanctuary projects are so complicated.

Are sea sanctuaries the answer?

They may be better than a concrete tank, but they are hard to build and fund. A sanctuary planned in Nova Scotia received a 20-year lease in 2025 but still needs construction funding, so it is not a simple or fast fix.

What happened to the Marineland belugas?

Marineland closed in 2024. In 2026 belugas were moved to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and to Valencia in Spain, and several have since died. Shedd reported chronic, pre-existing disease and has not named a cause of death. Investigations were ongoing in October 2026.

Is keeping whales and dolphins in captivity banned anywhere?

Canada passed a law in 2019 ending the captivity and breeding of whales and dolphins with limited exceptions, and France’s 2021 law ends cetacean shows. Rules differ by country and change, so check the current rule before you travel.

How can I meet dolphins ethically?

Choose a licensed boat that watches wild dolphins from a distance, follows local rules, and never chases, feeds or touches them. Accept that a sighting is never guaranteed.

Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed and never forced. Ocean Calling works only with vetted, ethical local operators, and every animal is given the freedom to approach, or not, entirely on its own terms.

Sources & further reading

1. Parliament of Canada. Canada ends whale and dolphin captivity: Senator Sinclair’s bill adopted. Senate of Canada, 2019 (Act S.C. 2019, c. 11, royal assent 21 June 2019).
2. An update on captive cetacean welfare. PubMed Central, peer-reviewed review.
3. Connexion France. Where will whales at Marineland go after captivity ban in France.
4. Mongabay. France to send its last captive orcas to marine park, not sanctuary. June 2026.
5. CBC News. Federal government denies Marineland request to export belugas. 2025.
6. CBS Chicago. Shedd Aquarium releases first findings in beluga whale deaths. September 2026.
7. Chicago Sun-Times. 3rd beluga whale dies at Shedd Aquarium after move from Marineland. 21 September 2026.
8. CP24. Another Marineland whale dies at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. 9 October 2026.
9. Global News. Nova Scotia whale sanctuary project.
10. Animal Welfare Institute. SeaWorld ends orca breeding programme. 2016.

Further reading on Ocean Calling: Ethical swimming with dolphins · Captive versus wild dolphin encounters · Dolphin tour warning signs · When marine parks close