Canada and an embattled marine park have reached a tentative deal on the future of 30 beluga whales, ending a saga that has captivated the public and angered animal rights groups.

The federal fisheries ministry announced this week that all of Marineland’s belugas would be shipped to either Spain or one of four locations in the US, ending whale captivity in Canada.

The federal government and Marineland, which effectively closed to visitors in 2024, have battled for months over the future of the whales. At one point, Marineland threatened to euthanize the belugas after Canada’s fisheries minister blocked their sale to China.

While permits still have to be finalized, a clear rescue plan has finally taken shape.

Oceanogràfic València, one of Europe’s largest aquariums, has offered to take some of the whales. A consortium of American aquariums in Georgia, Chicago, San Diego and San Antonio have also agreed to take them – although a spokesperson for the group said there was “no definite timeline” for the rescue, but that it could unfold over “matter of weeks”.

Advocacy groups say the move is the “least worst option” for the whales.

“For years, these animals have languished in decrepit, deteriorating tanks while Ontario’s animal welfare agency failed to take meaningful action,” Kaitlyn Mitchell, a lawyer at Animal Justice, said in a statement. She said Canada “should be prioritizing sending as many of the animals as possible to sanctuaries”.

But the decision to send the whales to aquariums in Europe and the US is a major blow to a controversial sanctuary in Nova Scotia that had pitched itself as a new home for the cetaceans. The sanctuary also offered to host two orcas in France, but officials later decided to send them to a Spanish zoo.

Before the whales can be transported, Canadian veterinarians will examine each whale to ensure they are healthy enough to travel. Canada’s federal government only issues export permits if the move is in the best interest of the whale and the government said permits “will be issued closer to the date of transport, pending final animal health checks”.

Mitchell said her team was “deeply concerned” that the whales might not be healthy enough to travel. “Independent experts must evaluate these animals before any transfer takes place to ensure they are not being moved with pre-existing health conditions, something that occurred when Marineland previously transferred whales to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut,” she said. “Three out of five of those belugas died.”