For two years, 30 beluga whales have been stuck at a defunct theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario — a park that closed its gates in 2024 and hasn't operated since. Now, thanks to a green light from US regulators, those whales finally have a way out.

The rescue plan involves moving the animals to a marine sanctuary — likely in the US or another facility capable of giving them the care and space they've been denied. The approval from the National Marine Fisheries Service clears the biggest legal hurdle, which was blocking the operation because most of the whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Without that waiver, no US-based sanctuary could accept them.

The situation has drawn attention from animal welfare groups who've been pushing for the whales' relocation ever since the park shut down. The site itself is no longer maintained for live animal exhibits, meaning the belugas have been stuck in a holding pattern with nowhere to go — until now.

What happens next: the team coordinating the rescue will finalize logistics, which include transporting 30 marine mammals across an international border. That's not a quick or simple move, but it's finally possible. For the first time in over 700 days, these belugas have a real shot at a better home.