Everyone loves Maaaaarriiiiinelaaand…. except the animals, apparently. Photo: Marineland/Facebook
A few days ago, news broke that Marineland, a park in Niagra Falls, Ontario, was charged with animal cruelty. Five counts of it, to be exact.
I’ve made my stance on places that keep animals caged for our entertainment pretty clear. Granted, most of my vitriol has been pointed at SeaWorld (and I haven’t even seen Blackfish!), but that’s because they’re the most obvious offenders and the constant stream of bullshit they spew in their defense drives me up the wall. “But we’re LEARNING about animals in the wild,” they say. “By raising whales in captivity we can LEARN so much about how they are in nature!” Meanwhile, the animals in their care are smashing their teeth out, killing trainers, and floating listlessly because they can’t kill themselves. Read more of my ranting here. And here and here and here and here. But I have another place to point my hate! Canada’s Marineland! I’m biased, too, because I’m from Canada. Sorry.
While the charges leveled at Marineland have nothing to do with whales, they are an indicator of their general treatment of every animal under their care. The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the charges relate to peacocks, guinea hens, and black bears. After the OSPCA received a complaint, they sent inspectors to Marineland early in November. They reported that 35 animals didn’t have enough food and water. Marineland has been charged with one count of failing to comply with the prescribed standards of care for a peacock and two counts of failing to comply with the prescribed standards of care for guinea hens and bears. So far, none of the animals have been removed, but the possible penalties are harsh: if the theme park is convicted, it could face a fine of up to $60,000 and a lifetime ban from owning animals.
Marineland is pretty much denying the whole thing, and if what they say is true, OSPCA officials are really over reacting. That still doesn’t change that fact that these people basically run a for-profit animal jail, though. I’ll post the whole thing below, but here it is in a nutshell:
The complaint was filed by a disgruntled employee. Only one peacock out of thousands of birds at the park had an issue. It was an eye issue. The guinea hens are all completely fine, but they were pissed that OSPCA members came into their pen. The bears ate a couple of stickers that were still attached to their vegetables. Here’s the whole thing from Facebook:
The OSPCA visited Marineland on November 10, 2016, in response to a complaint by a former animal care worker who was fired for poor performance and inappropriate behaviour.
As always, the OSPCA was provided with full access to the thousands of birds and all the land animals living at Marineland and to all areas of the park.
A single peacock, out of thousands of birds, had an issue with one eye. The peacock was otherwise healthy, eating well and interacting with all the other birds.
Marineland’s veterinarian attended to examine and treat the peacock, which is receiving full and appropriate medical treatment. Marineland believes the Peacock is fine and with appropriate treatment will return to the flock and lead a healthy long life.
Concerns were expressed by the OSPCA regarding the conduct of Guinea Hens while four members of the OSPCA were in their pen viewing them. Guinea Hens, like any wild bird, did not respond well to the sudden entrance into their enclosure of four OSPCA staff. The OSPCA expressed their desire that more space be given to the Hens. Marineland has provided an additional area for the Guinea Hens to shelter. No Guinea Hens were unhealthy, needed medical treatment, or were not acting in a well-adjusted manner.
With respect to the Black Bears the OSPCA expressed one concern, that one or more small labels attached to fruit and vegetables had managed to make their way into the food that is provided to the Bears. The Bears are provided with a very healthy diet of fish and fruits and vegetables. The fruits and vegetables are fit for human consumption and come with small adhesive labels, the same labels you see on the fruit in the grocery store. These labels are removed before the produce is given to the bears. Occasionally, a label is missed. That is regrettable but it does not pose any risk to the Bears. The health of the bears has been checked recently by qualified veterinarian staff. The diet for and the health of the bears has been checked numerous times over the last three years by the OSPCA and each time has been approved. The same diet that the OSPCA has approved multiple times for the past four years is continuing to be provided to the bears.
There has never been a complaint made by anyone, including the OSPCA, about the water provided to the bears. The bears have easy access to fresh clean water. The bears’ diet is extremely healthy and includes fish fit for human consumption and fresh fruit and vegetables. All of Marineland’s bears are extremely healthy and were recently checked by veterinary staff on November 23, 2016. No problems were found and the veterinarian noted, “the bears are on an excellent and varied diet.”
