Canada’s last whales in captivity got a postpone from death after the government on Monday conditionally approved a plan to export them to the United States.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson met Monday with officials at Marineland, an indoor theme park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to discuss a proposed plan to move the animals south. The park is in negotiations with four American institutions to take over its 30 beluga whales and four dolphins.

“It was a constructive meeting and I gave conditional approval for the export licenses,” Thompson said in statement posted on social media on Monday. “I will issue the final permits once Marineland receives the final information requested.”

Marineland pleaded with the minister, telling her repeatedly that the park was running out of money. The park told Thompson the animals would be euthanized if export permits were not approved by Jan. 30, according to a letter she wrote to Marineland on Monday, obtained by The Canadian Press.

Marineland said in a statement that it has the support of Thompson to relocate the animals. “We thank the minister and the Canadian government for prioritizing the lives of these remarkable marine mammals,” it said.

The move comes after Marineland presented what it called an emergency rescue solution to the federal government last week.

The park is reportedly in talks with the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld, which has several locations in the US.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford supported Thompson’s decision.

“They’re going to have a better home than where they are because it’s a horrible home they’re in right now,” Ford said of the animals. “It wasn’t big enough.”

Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at Marineland since 2019, according to a running list compiled by The Canadian Press based on internal records and official statements.

In October, Marineland applied for export permits to move its group of belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China. Thompson refused those permits, saying she would not subject the whales to future renditions in captivity.

This is in line with a 2019 law that banned the captivity of whales and dolphins, even though Marineland’s animals were grandfathered in.