Vancouver Aquarium fighting proposed cetacean ban when it meets with Park Board later this month
by Tom Anstey | 17 Jul 2014
Vancouver Aquarium is fighting to retain dolphins and wales currently held in captivity
Vancouver Aquarium representatives will appear before the Vancouver Park Board on 26 July in a bid to continue its conservation work with large marine mammals currently in captivity.
In addition to the decision, the Park Board – made up of seven elected commissioners with jurisdiction over a raft of leisure facilities and visitor attractions in Vancouver – will deliver a report on best practices for all aquariums.
A review of the aquarium’s work with cetaceans was requested by Park Board chair Aaron Jasper in April. The same day, city mayor Gregor Robertson called for an end to whale and dolphin captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium and several park commissioners have publicly voiced a similar opinion.
Aquarium CEO John Nightingale has said that restricting the conservation of such animals would “destroy research” and become a “life-and-death” matter for the aquarium’s continued existence.
The aquarium currently holds two beluga whales and two Pacific white-sided dolphins in its tanks in Stanley Park, which, despite heavy protest is planning to expand its whale and dolphin tanks rather than phase them out.
If passed, the “Sunset Bylaw” would provide for whales and dolphins currently housed at the aquarium to remain there while prohibiting both breeding and the importation of additional cetaceans from other facilities. The bylaw does leave room for rescued animals to be kept at the aquarium, provided they are deemed unreleasable by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and approved for permanent housing by the Park Board.
Aquariums have come under immense pressure from protest groups in the wake of CNN’s controversial documentary Blackfish, which recounts the 2010 death of trainer Dawn Brancheau which was caused by a 12,000-pound (5.4-ton) bull at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. The documentary claimed that by being kept in captivity for entertainment the whale was driven to madness.
California is also facing new state legislation that could spell trouble for SeaWorld attractions, which would no longer be able to hold orca shows in Florida.
17 Jun 2014
Whale ban could mean ‘life or death’ for Vancouver Aquarium
23 May 2014
SeaWorld takes another hit as STA removes it from its travel database
11 Mar 2014
Proposed legislation would ban Orca shows in California
25 Feb 2010
SeaWorld trainer dies after killer whale attack
Vancouver Aquarium representatives will appear before the Vancouver Park Board on 26 July in a bid to continue its conservation work with large marine mammals currently in captivity. In addition to the decision, the Park Board – made up of seven elected commissioners with jurisdiction over a raft of leisure facilities and visitor attractions in Vancouver – will deliver a report on best practices for all aquariums. A review of
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