What’s happening to deer at Marineland? Questions swirl as CFIA probes animal removal

An investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is focusing on more than 300 deer at Marineland, amid allegations that an animal broker has been improperly removing hundreds of other animals from the park. Sources speaking to The Canadian Press revealed that some of these animals were promised to a small business.

Marineland, an amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been closed to the public since 2024 and is currently on the market. A deal for the land is reportedly in place, contingent on the removal of all animals before the sale is finalized. Like the belugas and dolphins still at the park, the deer are expected to be moved in the coming months.

While the relocation of Marineland's whales has garnered significant international media coverage, the situation with the park's deer has been developing out of the public eye for years. The park has housed hundreds of fallow deer, red deer, and elk over the past decade, along with bears and bison that have since been relocated.

Marineland began seeking to rehome its land animals after Marie Holer, wife of the park's late founder, put the attraction up for sale in 2023. At that time, discussions were already underway to move the park's 30 belugas and four dolphins, the last of their kind held in captivity in Canada. Two years prior, Marineland offered its deer free of charge to interested parties, as some of the animals are valuable for their meat or antlers.