There are new concerns about animals at Marineland, the former theme park in Niagara Falls.
The group, Animal Justice, says an employee at the park has come forward with concerns about hundreds of deer still living on the property in cramped and unsupervised conditions.
Animal Justice is calling on provincial and federal authorities to investigate the condition of the deer after the alleged whistleblower said 100 were trucked off site, with many sent to slaughterhouses.
According to the animal welfare group, the employee said Marineland want the animals off the property by July 24th, and he/she fears they will all end up dead.
Animal Justice also says they are concerned for the current living conditions of the deer, and shared pictures of deer with facial lesions, apparent wounds near the antler base, and antlers that are abnormal in appearance.
The group is formally requested that Animal Welfare Services and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency investigate.
“After decades of profiting off the backs of the animals confined in abysmal conditions, Marineland’s ‘fire-sale’ approach to clearing out these sensitive, living creatures is absolutely appalling,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, lawyer and Animal Justice’s director of legal advocacy.
“Whether by threatening to kill their 30 surviving beluga whales, or forcing deer to live in abysmal conditions before potentially being sent on a terrifying journey to a slaughterhouse, Marineland has totally squandered its one last chance to try and do right by the animals still trapped there.”
There are plans to relocate Marineland’s 30 remaining beluga whales to accredited marine facilities across the United States and Europe.
Story credit: Bonnie Heslop
Image credit: Animal Justice
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