Marineland of Canada

As of 2018, Marineland housed approximately 4,000 land and marine animals and operated 19 theme park attractions. The park did not publicly disclose its annual attendance figures. Published amounts range from an estimated 250,000 Marineland was once a member of Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), but voluntarily withdrew from CAZA in May 2017, stating it was expanding the area for animals and "will be continuing to work with CAZA to ensure that the expansion is successfully harmonized with CAZA principles". In 2020 the facility did not open in spring as planned because of the restrictions required by the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility remained closed due to restrictions placed by the Government of Ontario. Marineland reopened for its 2022 season. Following the death of John Holer in 2018, his widow, Marie Holer, took ownership of the park until her own death on September 6, 2024. The park has been for sale since at least 2023. All of the rides present in the park were closed as well as some of the exhibits featuring animals. In 2024, the park was only open for two months with a significant portion of the park remaining closed and admission being sold at reduced rates. Marine exhibits the orca at Marineland, 2017 Marineland kept beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, grey seals, harbour seals, penguins and sea lions. The belugas are kept in Arctic Cove, Friendship Cove and King Waldorf Stadium. As of April 2026, Marineland has 30 beluga whales, 4 dolphins, 3 seals, and 2 sea lions stuck in abandoned tanks. Marineland at one time had several walruses and orcas. Kiska was the last orca kept at Marineland until her death in 2023. She was nicknamed the World's Loneliest Orca because she spent the last 12 years of her life completely alone. Kiska was the last captive orca to be held in Canada as a result of the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act. In 2025, Marineland applied to the federal government for a permit to export all 30 of its remaining beluga whales to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom aquarium in China. On October 1, 2025, the Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson denied the request, saying that it would have meant the whales would continue life in captivity and return to public entertainment contrary to the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act 2019. Marineland responded to the decision by asking the government for money to feed the whales saying that otherwise they would need to be euthanized. CBC News reported on February 27, 2026 that two sea lions had been relocated from Marineland to Vancouver Aquarium. Land animals In addition to marine animals, Marineland also featured land animals, including black bears, deer, elk, and buffalo. In 2023, Marineland faced charges from the province of Ontario for providing inadequate care to their black bears under the Ontario Animal Welfare Services Act. Marineland was charged $85,000 in 2024 for failing to improve conditions for their black bears after the previous visit. Provincial inspectors concluded that these animals had minimal access to water, were being kept in unsuitable enclosures, and were unable to fulfill their psychological needs. By October 2025, the only remaining land animals at the park were bears and deer. Rides This is the more recent list of rides that Marineland possessed, including a pair of roller coasters and a large launched free fall. As Marineland has put them up for sale, it may no longer possess them. ==History==

The park was founded by John Holer, a Slovenian immigrant who had worked in circuses in Europe. 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 seal was recaptured by Holer a few days later in Queenston, where it was found sunning itself with teenager Tommy Haines, who was given the reward. In 1964, Holer added two dolphins, along with a few other animals and the attraction became known as Marineland and Game Farm. The park became a popular family attraction and recorded an annual attendance of 250,000 for the 1967 season. In 1968, the park added alligators. In 1971, Marineland added orcas. Kandu became the park's major attraction. In 1973, the aquarium purchased Kandy, a female orca captured off Vancouver Island in 1973, to mate with Kandu, but she died later that year. Kandu lived until 1979 and was replaced by Nootka, captured and brought to the park in 1981. Nootka lived until 2008. In 1975, Marineland became involved in a controversy over another orca captured off Vancouver Island. The capture of Kanduke by the Sealand of the Pacific aquarium of Victoria, British Columbia, for purchase by Marineland was blocked by the Government of British Columbia, at the instigation of Greenpeace activists. Claimed to be property by the BC government and resources by the Government of Canada, the orca eventually was transported to Marineland after it was determined that orcas were a resource under the control of the Canadian government. The incident led to the ending of the capture of orcas in British Columbia waters. In 1976, Marineland announced a expansion on 1,000 adjacent acres, to include a 400-acre "safari park" and amusement centre. Construction began on a new 15,000-seat stadium and pool for killer whales. Marineland purchased two locomotives for a steam train railroad. When plans for Canada's Wonderland were announced, Holer decided to further increase the park's expansion plans, adding a Gothic castle, canals and the world's largest roller coaster, for a total cost of . The "Dragon Mountain" roller coaster opened in 1983 along with other rides. At a cost of , the roller coaster opened without reproductions of the American and Horseshoe falls, postponed to the future. In 1984, Holer announced the postponement of part of the expansion, citing an 86% increase in municipal property taxes, and threatened to move the facility across the river to the United States. In 1982, Marineland purchased Keiko, a killer whale, from an aquarium in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland. Keiko started performing for the public and developed skin lesions indicative of poor health. He was then sold for $350,000 to Reino Aventura (now named Six Flags México), an amusement park in Mexico City, in 1985. Keiko died of pneumonia in December 2003. in Arctic Cove, 2008 In 2001, Marineland added walruses to the marine mammals it kept. The first walrus was Sonja, from the Moscow Zoo. It was joined by Zeus and Apollo two months later and Pandora, Buttercup and Buddy in 2002. Marineland added Smooshi and Azul in 2004. Sonja died in 2017, and Zeus died in 2018. In 2003, Marineland opened the "Arctic Cove" beluga whale exhibit. Beluga whales were held in Friendship Cove from May 30, 1999, until the opening of Arctic Cove in late 2003. Belugas returned to Friendship Cove in December 2008 following the importation of eight individuals. In 2014, several belugas were switched between Arctic Cove and Friendship Cove. In 2004, Marineland opened the "Sky Screamer" triple tower ride. That same year, Marineland bought the Green Oaks Mobile Home Park across the street from the park with plans to relocate maintenance buildings to the site. In 2009, Marineland evicted 47 families that were tenants at the park. The tenants appealed to the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board, lost their case and were ordered off the property by March 2010. One tenant committed suicide while others continued to fight Marineland but had to leave in 2011. Holer was ordered to pay $11,000 each to several tenants for harassment. Marineland has filed nine lawsuits against activists, former employees and the media, An inspection by the OSPCA and CAZA, however, found "no issues of concern". In November 2016 and January 2017, the OSPCA received a complaint from a former employee through the animal rights organization Last Chance for Animals. The OSPCA filed some charges against the park in late 2016 and early 2017, but all of the charges were withdrawn by government prosecutors later that year. Holer died on June 23, 2018, aged 82. He was praised as an "immigrant success story" by Senator Don Plett (Manitoba). Holer had been seriously ill for five months and died at his home on Chippewa Parkway. Holer was survived by his wife Marie and son Peter. Another son, John Mark Jr., died in 2013. The mayor of Niagara Falls, Jim Diodati, said Marineland at a "crossroads" with three options: to continue the current business model, to sell its of land to real estate developers, or to become an amusement park without animals. Diodati favours the latter option. According to testimony before a Senate of Canada committee in May 2017, the expansion was described as being one of the largest expansions Marineland has ever made. Holer himself described the overall park as only "half-developed." On opening day in May 2019, two deer died in a stampede in the deer enclosure, which was reopened for the 2019 season. According to Marineland, a father and son caused the stampede, laughed at staff, and refused to leave the enclosure, then slipped away while staff quieted the animals. Marineland closed the deer enclosure afterwards until modifications were implemented to prevent a future stampede. On May 22, it was announced that the 18-year-old walrus Apollo had died of heart failure. It was the fourth walrus to die at Marineland within two years, after Zeus, Buttercup and Sonja, and left Marineland with a single walrus, Smooshi. In June 2019, Marineland opened its new "Polar Splash" splash park attraction at a cost of million. In June 2019, Marineland signed a ten-year partnership agreement with the Mystic Aquarium's Sea Research Foundation (a subsidiary of Ocean Wise Inc.) for beluga research. In September 2019, it was announced that Marineland had sold two beluga whales to Oceanographic, a Spanish facility owned by Ocean Wise Inc., with the permission of the Canadian government. There were rumours in 2023 that the park would be sold, but no sale was announced. Marineland registered with the Government of Ontario in January 2023 as a lobbyist, to assist in the sale of the property. In 2024, the park opened on a reduced scale, with no rides and no animal shows. In September 2024, Marie Holer died. The future of the park is unresolved, although the park says it has a succession plan. In 2025, Marineland decided to mortgage its undeveloped lands to the rear of the theme park. It severed those lands from the remaining amusement park lands. Marineland received bridge financing to support the plan, with the stipulation that all marine mammals would be removed. The sub-division was approved by the City of Niagara Falls' Committee of Adjustment in February 2025. Documents supporting the sub-division suggested that Marineland intended to redevelop the remaining theme park lands into a year-round attraction. The park itself has remained closed. In September 2025, it was reported that Marineland had applied to the federal government for export permits to move its remaining 30 beluga whales to China. The federal government rejected the application in October. In January 2026, the federal government gave conditional approval to a request by Marineland to export its remaining 30 belugas and 4 dolphins to several institutions in the United States, pending an assessment of the animals by accredited veterinarian and the provision of a detailed transport plan. Marineland is proposing to send the animals to the Georgia Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, and a SeaWorld location. ==Animal welfare==

the orca at Marineland, 2007 Marineland and its owner John Holer have been involved in many controversies throughout the park's history. Animal rights activists have picketed regularly outside the park property for several years and continued to protest as of 2018. 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 the 1980s, Greenpeace was the first activist group to raise concerns about keeping killer whales in captivity. It objected to the keeping in principle, although it stated that Marineland was one of the better facilities. The level of concern grew in the 1990s. In 1997, a protest was held outside the park by Ric O'Barry, the trainer of Flipper of the television series. Other organizations present at the protest included Friends of the Dolphins, Zoocheck Canada and Earth Island Institute. The protesters alleged that Marineland separated mother and child killer whales too quickly and four other whales were stored in unsuitable facilities. In September 2011, SeaWorld won a court battle with Marineland over the fate of Ikaika, a 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 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. After an investigation by the ministry, Marineland was allowed to continue using a section of the site for animal burials. 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. performing at Marineland, 2017 In April 2014, the Vancouver newspaper The Georgia Straight published an article alleging that five harbour seals transferred from the Vancouver Aquarium had fallen ill at Marineland due to "poor water chemistry". According to the article, one, Pepper, died in 2006 from the conditions while the rest were blind. Marineland filed a lawsuit in July 2014 against The Georgia Straight and the article's writer for defamation and damages. According to Marineland, Pepper did not die as described in the article and the others were not blind but were in fact generally healthy. It was the eighth lawsuit filed by Marineland since 2012, and the third against a media outlet. In 2015, the Government of Ontario took up debate of the keeping of orcas. Bob Barker urged Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to order Marineland to give up Kiska and other animals. On May 28, 2015, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act. The act prohibits the possession or breeding of orcas in Ontario but allowed Marineland to keep its orca. 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." Marineland demanded million in damages for breach of its intellectual property rights. Affolter denied the allegations and said he had found the video of Kiska on Facebook. Until the lawsuit was resolved, the film's release was on hold. Demers allegations with the walrus Smooshi, circa 2010 In May 2012, Philip Demers, trainer of the walrus Smooshi, resigned from Marineland. He had been an employee of Marineland for 12 years and had been noted for his close relationship with Smooshi. Demers made public his concerns about Marineland and has been sued by Marineland. On August 15, 2012, the Toronto Star published an article of Demers' account, 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 declined to press charges, but did order changes in park procedures that were then implemented by Marineland. The controversies led to Suzie McNeil, singer of the park's jingle, "Everyone Loves Marineland", to ask the park to no longer use her recording. Demers's campaign against the institution is profiled in the 2020 documentary film The Walrus and the Whistleblower. It was released as part of the Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival. It documented the relationship former Marineland trainer Phil Demers had with the walrus Smooshi before he quit in 2012 and became a vocal critic of the park. In June 2020, the film was named as the winner of 2020 Rogers Audience Award and as Overall Favourite at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. The Audience Award allowed the film to be fast tracked in the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature category, "provided it meets all other criteria for eligibility". The CBC's Documentary Channel item about the film stated that Demers had "appeared four times on the Joe Rogan show, has testified before the Canadian Senate, and is being sued for $1.5 million for plotting to steal Smooshi, the walrus". On September 20, 2022, Demers and the park reached a non-costs agreement where the walrus Smooshi and her calf Koyuk would be rehomed. The two walruses were removed to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi in March 2023. The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act In 2015, then-Senator Wilfred Moore of the Senate of Canada introduced Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act. Marineland would be one of two facilities in Canada to be affected by the law after the bill is passed. Marineland, along with the Vancouver Aquarium, opposed the bill. According to Marineland, the Act advances an agenda of entrenching animal rights into the legal framework: "the granting of the rights of a person to whales—what activists call a 'non- human person'—and then to other species". Progressive Conservatives in the Senate, led by Sen. Don Plett, used procedural obstruction to keep the bill from moving to a vote. In June 2018, the senators added amendments intended to exclude Marineland and the Vancouver Aquarium from being covered by the bill. The bill was passed by the Senate in October 2018 and was sent to the House of Commons of Canada. Andrew Burns, Marineland's lawyer appeared at a House Fisheries Committee meeting in March 2019, to propose an amendment regarding future beluga births at Marineland, claiming the new law is unconstitutional. Senator Murray Sinclair, the bill's second sponsor in the Senate and a former judge, told MPs no one would be prosecuted when currently pregnant belugas give birth. In the opinion of Sinclair and May, Burns was only intending to delay the bill, so that it could not be passed before the end of the current session of the Parliament of Canada. The bill was passed by committee without amendments. The bill passed third and final reading in the House of Commons on June 10, 2019. Animal abuse charges and complaints at Marineland, 2017 In 2012, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 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 November 10, 2016, however, the agency received a formal 35-page complaint—compiled by 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. On November 25, 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". A news article on August 10, 2017, stated that the park had started a lawsuit against former employee Demers, one of those who had filed complaints with the OSPCA, for million and that this is only one of nine lawsuits against activists, former employees and the media since 2012. None of the suits has been resolved 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 January 26, 2017. On the same day, Marineland posted another response on its website, 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." On August 10, 2017, all charges were withdrawn in Niagara Falls Provincial court. The prosecutor stated that there was no likelihood of conviction and pursuit of the matters was found to not be in the public interest The OSPCA inspected the park a week later and did not find any issues of concern. In October 2017, Marineland filed a lawsuit against the OSPCA, alleging that the OSPCA launched its investigation purely to harm Marineland. "It was motivated by a series of improper objectives, including a desire to accomplish its own policy agenda, to mollify the animal activist community, to please its donors, and to effectively destroy Marineland." Marineland is seeking in damages. The OSPCA responded publicly that it "vehemently denies all of the allegations and will defend itself." In January 2020, Ontario's Animal Welfare Services took over enforcement of anti-cruelty laws from OSPCA. Subsequently, it opened an investigation into Marineland, which is ongoing as of May 2023. Since then, Marineland has been inspected at least 160 times, but the government has so far refused to reveal any details. However, in May 2021, an affidavit obtained by The Canadian Press revealed that inspectors had issued two orders to Marineland to repair water systems in animal enclosures. Court documents also revealed that inspectors found all marine mammals in the park to be in distress. Marineland appealed the orders, denying the distress and any relation between water quality and recent deaths, but dropped the appeal a few weeks later. On May 31, 2023, the Government of Ontario charged Marineland over the care of its black bears. "Marineland of Canada, Inc. in Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been charged with three counts of failing to comply with an order, related to the care of American Black Bears," said Brent Ross, a spokesman for the ministry. Beluga whale deaths • Dee, a beluga whale imported from Russia, died in August 2000 after a petting session. • Sasha, a beluga whale born in 2008 at Marineland, died around October 10, 2011, several days before the off-season. • On May 28, 2012, a nine-month-old beluga, Skoot, 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 and he said it took a long time for trainers to respond. By that time, the calf had already died. Marineland's John Holer told the news media that the calf died because of meningitis. • In May 2013, an aquatic inventory website (Ceta-Base.org) reported that belugas Luna and Charlotte were both deceased and said these were the latest of 18 other beluga deaths over the years. The site's August 2017 report indicates additional beluga deaths, some without a date, with the most recent (named R1) having been on July 30, 2015. • In August 2017, Gia (who had been born at the park) died suddenly. A preliminary report indicated that the cause may have been a twisted small intestine that resulted in a fatal blockage. The Ceta-Base site indicates that Gia had been born in 2012. • In March 2024, two more beluga whales died, bringing the total number of deaths to 17 since 2019. • In February 2025, Marineland euthanized a seven-year old beluga whale after it had struggled with medical conditions for several years. Orca deaths A Toronto Star report in November 2012 stated that "Marineland has had 26 killer whales over roughly three decades, according to ... Zoocheck Canada. Of these, 17 died at Marineland. ... Six died in other parks after being transferred while one died en route from Marineland to Japan". • Junior, a wild Icelandic male orca, being kept in an indoor barn, died in June 1994. • Kanuck, separated from mother, Kiska and stored in a warehouse. Died at age 4 in 1998. • An unnamed whale born at Marineland died in June 1998. • Malik, a three-year-old orca, died due to a deficient immune system in March 2000. • April died in April 2004. • Neocia died in August 2004 at Marineland. • Hudson died in October 2004 with the cause of death being meningitis. • Kandu, a wild whale from Iceland that had been at the park since the 1980s, died on December 21, 2005. • Katak/Splash was born at Marineland and was moved to SeaWorld in 1992 for health treatment. He died in April 2005. • Athena died sometime in spring 2009. The cause of death was by infection. • An unnamed whale died while being moved from Marineland to Japan. • Kiska, the park's last remaining orca, died from bacterial infection on March 10, 2023. ==Advertising==

For many years, Marineland's main advertising was through a series of radio and television commercials with the jingle "Everyone Loves Marineland", an upbeat pop jingle originally sung by Eria Fachin and later by Ann-Marie McDonnell and Suzie McNeil. Marineland has also used other slogans over the years in its advertising: • "Come to Marineland" (1980–1984) • "Where the Fun Never Stops" (1985–1988) • "Happiness is Marineland" (1987–1992) • "Everyone Loves Marineland" (1993–2024) • "A Magical Place Marineland" (1995) ==See also==