I always get a good laugh reading comments celebrating an animal being “freed from captivity!” when it moves to sanctuary.
That is still captivity, my guys.
It's captivity with ~marketing~
And SEA LIFE continues to get inunandated with angry comments on their videos of their belugas because of this marketing.
Aafter deliberately alienating themselves from the industry, talking down to accredited facilities and making all these promises about belugas swimming "free" (see: in a sea pen) - the whales are still in the "temporary" care pool after 4 years - because they are consistently failing to acclimitise to the sea pen.
What does that look like? It looks like two whales refusing to station, unable to eat from the stress and developing stomach ulcers (also likely from the stress). It looks like thousands of dollars poured into a "intermediate habitat" that still failed to help the whales acclimate.
At least they even have an indoor care pool to look after them in! Whale Sanctuary Project doesn't even have an indoor care pool in their building plans. And they want to take on even more potentially vulnerable whales with genetic and health issues (Marineland Canada belugas).
I feel bad for the Beluga Sanctuary staff because it's not their fault that Merlin, a multi million dollar company, set them up for failure for the sake of marketing/jumping on a misinformed bandwagon and getting donations from a misinformed public.
Little Grey and Little White are doing well in their care pools - despite that facility being significantly smaller than their tank in China. And these poor whales are going to continue to be moved back and forth from the sea pen even though they have consistently shown an inability to adapt.
For their sake, I hope they do. Because this "sanctuary" doesn't seem to be willing to just let these whales live where they feel comfortable and safe.
They are going to continue to force them into an environment they are struggling to be in for the sake of appeasing the public, which was sold a lie that their welfare would magically improve in a sea pen.