Activists mark opening day at Marineland with peaceful protest

Animal activists gathered outside Marineland in Niagara Falls on Saturday to commemorate the life of Kiska the orca who died at the amusement park on March 9.

The whistleblower organization, Urgent Seas, planned the peaceful protest to coincide with the official opening day for the amusement park.

READ MORE: Marineland’s final captive orca ‘Kiska’ has died at age 47

Phil Demers is a co-founder for Urgent Seas and a key organizer for the event. He said he became involved in the movement after working at Marineland.

“I worked there from 2000 to 2012 and I left to become an animal abuse whistleblower,” Demers said.

“The conditions continued to deteriorate to the point where I couldn’t do anything if I hadn’t left, I couldn’t have made the changes that were necessary, such as passing a law to ban whale captivity in Canada.”

READ MORE: Animal rights activists hold a memorial service outside Marineland for Kiska the whale

In 2019, Canada passed bill S-203 which bans the captivity and breeding of whales, dolphins and porpoises. However, animals already in captivity were excluded from protection.

Kiska was recognized as the last captive orca in Canada and there were widespread campaigns while she was still alive to “Free Kiska.”

Ontario animal welfare services officers were on-site as Marineland performed a post mortem on the orca, who was estimated to be 47 years old.

READ MORE: Bottlenose dolphin, beluga whale die at Marineland

Activists say Kiska’s story was instrumental in drawing public attention to the plight of captive marine animals.

Urgent Seas is planning to take their crowds to Miami next week as they continue to fight for an orca there named Lolita.