This isn't a zoo, it's a shitty theme park.

Criticisms of Marineland date back several years, and in 2020 Animal Welfare Services opened an investigation into the park. It found that 12 whales at the park had died over a two year period and declared all the park's marine life to be under distress. Some 20 whales have died at the marine park since 2019 - five of them in 2024 - according to news agency the Canadian Press.

This mischaracterization of zoos needs to stop. They do important conservation, preservation, and public outreach work.

Zoos are necessary and should only contain animals that do not show signs of stress when in captivity, the fact is people don't protect what they don't love and they don't love what they don't know. This is one of the only ways to get people engaged with conservation.

this one sucks though.

You can make zoos that are ethical, it just that most are highly unethical. I was at a zoo earlier this year that only kept a few types of animals but they were given a lot of space to roam about and that properly mimicked their natural habitat. They had space to go to if they wanted to be away from people.

Ethical care and treatment should be the standard but our world is designed to extract the maximum profit possible while minimizing everything else.

☹️

I've read there are cases of beluga whales previously held in captivity which have been set free but first they need to be transferred to a sanctuary where they get used to their natural environment and also learn to hunt.