TORONTO - Marineland's request for emergency funding from Ottawa, in a letter that warned 30 belugas at the park will otherwise be euthanized, is "inappropriate," Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said Monday.

The Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction made the request Friday with a deadline of Tuesday after Thompson denied Marineland permits to move Canada's last captive whales to an aquarium in China.

Marineland has said it is fully indebted, quickly running out of money to feed and care for the whales and needs an immediate injection of cash.

Thompson said Marineland is accountable for the care of its remaining belugas, after the deaths of 19 such whales at the park since 2019. The park's last killer whale, Kiska, died in 2023.

"The decision that was made last week to not grant th

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