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Vancouver Sadquarium's 60 Years Part 1
posted on June 11, 2016
NEWS RELEASE: Vancouver SADquarium for 60 Years
It is the Vancouver SADquarium’s 60th anniversary and their 60s wild dolphin slave trade continues! The Baltimore Aquarium is changing to sea pens while the Vancouver Aquarium (VA) continues to paddle upstream to build more tanks for more captives. The Vancouver Aquarium history could be told in the Obituary news because of all the deaths in this prison.
1. The Whale and Dolphin Obituary
Due to their pro capture policies there have been at least 49 deaths of cetaceans alone. This includes belugas captured in 1990 then sent to the notorious US Sea Worlds for artificial insemination experiments. One of the males died from injuries from other belugas and most of the babies have died.
In 1967 the VA was the first to display an orca. “Walter” who was renamed “Skana” since it was a female (Note: sex of the harpooned orca was also incorrectly determined.) In 1968 Skana had to get 100 stitches when the window broke in the tiny BC Tel Pool. The dolphin “Splasher” died when either hitting pool wall or being crushed by Skana.
Having started the orca slave trade after callously harpooning one to kill for a model for a sculpture their exotic animal expeditions continued throughout the decades. This includes the six narwhals that died within weeks and one injured so severely by capture ropes and was shot on the beach. (Note: In 1970 a beluga, “Bella”, was used for roping practise for the narwhal captures.)
2. The Plight of Sea Otters
The sea otter “Clamchops” drowned when staff dropped the pool gate on him. Media eventually found out 2 months after the death.
Lifeforce stopped the VA’s first attempt to transport sick, oiled sea otters to Vancouver from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Then they agreed to go to Alaska to help but quickly brought otters to Vancouver. Some died, and some were sent to other aquariums. The survivors were subjected to repeated, stressful blood tests funded by Exxon.
3. A Long List of Captives
The VA foray into the zoo animal business is a threat to natural Stanley Park wildlife education. The public voted against a city run zoo in Stanley Park. The amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, and primates are kept in tiny zoo type enclosures. The Aquarium expansion plans may well repeat the folly of neurotic river otters and even imprisoning beaver who can be seen living freely in Stanley Park.
A tank chemical was accidently dumped into the pool system resulting in the deaths of hundreds of fish. The Aquarium claimed it was vandalism and launched a major fundraising campaign.
In 1979 a mola mola (Sunfish) died within a few days after delivery.
Promoting the exotic/tropical fish industry has resulted in the devastation of word wide coral reefs. Dynamite was used and this even harmed child labour in the Philippines.
The aquarium still collects marine wildlife in local waters for their petting pools.
“Rescued” Harbour seals, some blind, have been sent to other aquariums and zoos for decades.
4. Numerous Sharks
As stated in the Vancouver Sun it was a public relations disaster for the aquarium capturing 3 sharks off Mayne Island in 1975. “One was attacked by other sharks while still hooked on the line and died shortly after capture. Another died a few days later, and the last one succumbed after about three weeks.”
In 1976 too much chlorine entered the shark tanks burning the gills of the sharks..
In 1991 in order to open the new Black tipped shark exhibit the VA disposed of 4 Atlantic species an 1 sawfish. They were kept in holding tanks for over a year while Marineworld/Africa USA built a shark exhibit. The VA was also involved with a Las Vegas shark exhibit.
See Part 2
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