After sustained pressure on Marineland probe, Ontario animal welfare body opens up

Beluga whales swim in a tank at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Ontario’s little-known team of taxpayer-funded animal cruelty investigators recently issued its first-ever news release, years after launching in 2020.

The small but meaningful step toward increased transparency comes after sustained pressure from The Canadian Press — along with animal advocacy groups and opposition politicians — for Animal Welfare Services to open up publicly about its years-long probe of Marineland.

Earlier this month, the organization housed under the Ministry of the Solicitor General issued a short statement about the death of five dogs and the “distress” of 24 more. It said that it had laid 96 charges against a Hamilton woman.

Chief Animal Welfare Inspector Melanie Milczynski has shared little else about the case but said its significance, along with questions from locals about the organization’s investigation, played a role in going public about the charges.

But Milczynski admitted that Animal Welfare Services has been under fire to be more open about its work.

“It’s part of a broader communication strategy that we’re looking to be a little bit more proactive in telling our story and sharing the work that we do,” Milczynski said in a recent interview.

“One of the things that we hear quite a lot is that there’s an interest in Animal Welfare Services having increased transparency in the work that we do.”

Last month, Animal Welfare Services spoke publicly for the first time about its investigation into Marineland, the beleaguered tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Milczynski had made herself available for an interview for the first time. No previous chief animal welfare inspectors had spoken to reporters, and up until then, the government had repeatedly denied interview requests from The Canadian Press.

Provincial inspectors have visited the park more than 200 times since 2020, Milczynski said in November.

Since late 2019, 17 belugas have died at Marineland, including five in the past year.

Milczynski said last month that the water at the park had been brought up to standard, but she believed previous water issues had nothing to do with the marine mammal deaths — despite the province declaring in 2021 that all marine mammals at the park were in distress due to poor water.

Marineland has previously asserted that it takes good care of its animals and that the animal deaths are part of the cycle of life. Last month, it did not answer questions about the animal deaths but responded to inquiries from The Canadian Press with accusations that its journalism was driven by its reporter’s “personal animal rights beliefs and activism.”

In that first interview weeks ago, Milczynski said her organization would consider increasing its transparency.

Its predecessor, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, issued numerous press releases detailing the launch of investigations, updates to the care of animals involved in its probes and announcements when it laid charges.

The OSPCA abdicated its role as the enforcer of animal cruelty laws in 2019, citing a court decision that said the government erred when it gave the private organization policing powers without also imposing accountability and transparency standards.

The Appeal Court later overturned the lower court ruling, but by then the OSPCA was out of the enforcement game.

Then-community safety minister Sylvia Jones pledged a more open and transparent organization would take its place.

But for nearly five years, Animal Welfare Services — through a ministry spokesman — released nothing proactively. If reporters found out that the agency was investigating something, it would respond to queries on a case-by-case basis.

For example, in early 2023, the organization quietly charged Marineland for its treatment of three young black bears.

But it didn’t acknowledge anything publicly until The Canadian Press reached out to the ministry for confirmation after receiving a tip that the charges had been laid.

Marineland was ultimately found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws earlier this year. The bears were found to have lived in cramped quarters for months, with little access to water and climbing structures. The park was ordered to pay $85,000 in fines and restitution.

It was only this past September that Animal Welfare Services first released a public annual report.

The document said that last year, its 24/7 call centre received about 40,000 calls and its team conducted more than 22,000 inspections and investigations. Inspectors removed nearly 3,000 animals that were either in distress or seized as evidence. The organization issued nearly 3,500 orders and laid 296 charges.

In the recent interview, Milczynski committed to releasing more information to the public, especially when charges are laid or there are updates to high-profile cases such as the Marineland probe.

“If there is a case that’s generating a high level of interest or is related to public safety or other matters where it would be helpful to be more communicative in a timely manner, then we can similarly send out communications just to let people know that we’re aware of the situation and we are actively looking into it,” Milczynski said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024.

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press