The Ontario government has ordered Marineland to stop burying dead animals on its grounds immediately.

The Ministry of the Environment gave the Niagara Falls tourist attraction a strict timetable to carry out a series of orders, which includes a comprehensive assessment by an environment firm of the entire park and interviews with current and former employees who have knowledge of the grave sites.

The ministry conducted the inspection after the Star inquired about regulations surrounding mass animal graves. The issue arose as part of a Star series about the treatment of animals at the park.

The onus is on Marineland to disclose what is buried there.

The ministry made it clear that Marineland, which never obtained an official permit for burials, must comply with all government regulations. There will be further monitoring and it’s not clear whether the site will even hold any more buried animals, according ministry spokesperson Kate Jordan.

Marineland must post a notice of the government order and its details in a conspicuous place, no later than March 8.

It’s also up to Marineland to disclose the presence of any other mass graves and “all materials buried,” according to the ministry.

“The environmental firm must do further digging, testing and monitoring of all waste disposal sites,” Jordan said. “There will also be a survey of the entire site, where they will use equipment that can detect things under the ground.”

In December, the Star called the ministry to ask about the rules and environmental impact of four mass graves, one with more than 1,000 corpses, as detailed by former supervisor Jim Hammond.

The ministry didn’t know the graves existed. Within two days — Dec. 20 and 21 — officials inspected the ground and dug two pits for soil and water testing. They also sampled the Welland River, both upstream and downstream of Marineland.

Owner John Holer opened the marine and animal park in 1961. The graves contain the bodies of killer whales, belugas, dolphins, seals, sea lions, buffalo, deer, bears and other animals.

The preliminary results of two test pits and Welland River sampling show no contamination has occurred. New sites will now be tested throughout the 1,000-acre (405-hectare) park.

“That indicates the graves aren’t having an impact on water quality in the river,” Jordan said.

By Feb. 1, Marineland must submit a proposal for staff interviews, for further testing of the grounds, and for the preparation of a series of maps showing all other waste or burial sites.

“The plan must be acceptable to the issuing provincial officer,” the order said.

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By March 1, Marineland must have started the work under the supervision of a qualified environmental consultant.

By May 3, Marineland must submit a written report to the ministry. It must include, “at a minimum,” the documented interviews of former and current staffers, results of all surveys and investigations of the grounds, and “a list of the types of wastes processed or buried at the site,” and “an estimate of the volume of each waste type.”

If Marineland wants to continue burying animals on site, the park must apply for a permit from the environment ministry to operate a disposal site.

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