If I had a dollar for every time that GOVERNMENT was blamed for problems caused by unchecked, unregulated capitalism…

…I’d be a Republican presidential candidate.

Niagara Falls / Marineland neglect: Mother beluga whale tried to protect baby

On May 28, baby beluga Skoot died in the arms of trainers at Marineland after a brutal two-hour assault by two adult male belugas that left her unresponsive and unable to swim.
The attack unfolded in front of a Marineland guide untrained and helpless to intervene, who wrote a report of the 9-month-old calf’s ordeal, and Skoot’s mother Skyla, who tried in vain to protect her baby.

In an interview with the Star, Marineland owner John Holer blamed Skoot’s death on meningitis, based on a necropsy performed at the facility and samples analyzed at the Université de Montréal. He acknowledged that the attack on the calf occurred, but said it was over quickly. “If animals see another animal is going to die, they kill it.”

“You have to understand . . . for people and all living things, there is a time to live and a time to die,” he said.

The attack underscores concerns raised by former staffers that Marineland doesn’t employ enough trainers to properly handle its marine mammals or react quickly in an emergency, especially one like Skoot’s that began on a May evening after the park’s trainers had punched out.

Here’s the full article:
Marineland baby beluga’s death

‘The seal was writhing in pain… with blood coming from his eye:’ Ex-trainer at aquarium reveals horrific conditions animals were forced to endure

Absolutely sickening — animal abuse at Niagara Falls aquariuam:

A former employee of an aquatic animal park has given a damning account of the horrific conditions animals were forced to endure.

Phil Demers resigned from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario in May after 12 years as a senior trainer.
He said a major reason for his departure was because the poor water conditions at the park had a catastrophic effect on the health of the seals, sea lions, walruses and dolphins.

Horrifying: ‘The water had gotten so bad it was green, it was harming the animals, it smelled bad and it made the people who worked in this environment ill as well,’ said Mr Demers
‘The water had gotten so bad it was green, it was harming the animals, it smelled bad and it made the people who worked in this environment ill as well,’ he told the Toronto Star.
‘The chemicals we were using to try to maintain the water were really harming the animals.’

In revelations that have outraged animal right’s activists he said the he saw the dolphin’s skin was flaking off, and that they could not open their eyes.
Phil Demers, left resigned from Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario in May after 12 years as a senior trainer
Damage: ‘The chemicals we were using to try to maintain the water were really harming the animals,’ said Mr Demers

Disturbing:The former trainer described a pattern of neglect that has repeatedly resulted in animal suffering
Recalling the condition of Seal Lions Baker and Sander, he said that they could not even train them to open their eyes as ‘the damage was so extensive that when we finally saw it, it was just grotesque.’

He told how the trainers would pull the animals out of the water to dry conditions to try and alleviate the damage but said as a consequence not having access to fresh water also proved to be harmful for the animals.
‘Baker was writhing in pain, constantly shaking erratically, clutching his eyes shut,’ he said.

He explained that Sandy did not move for weeks on end and to try and gain a monetary respite from the agony, Baker would constantly put his head into a bucket of fresh water.

Mr Demers told how he eventually removed Baker from the dry environment, because he was concerned about his health.

‘He actually barked and his eyeball lens had projected from his eye socket an landed on the floor, streams of blood was coming from his eye.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2189128/Former-trainer-Marineland-reveals-horrific-conditions-animals-forced-endure.html#ixzz23jn4upOy

Here’s a link to the full story and pictures:
‘The seal was writhing in pain