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Cetaceans Win!
posted on May 16, 2017
May 15, 2017
News Release: Cetaceans Win!
The Vancouver Parks Board has passed a total ban on the captivity of cetaceans. The amended Cetacean Bylaw will finally end the cetacean suffering from Aquarium business propaganda! This will help to guarantee the rights and freedoms of cetaceans worldwide!
There will not be any exemptions such as rescue, research, and captive born. Permitting any imprisonment of cetaceans for any reason is unnecessary and would perpetuate captivity. The Vancouver Aquarium said that they will “rescue” from all “Canadian shores” so that would have led to many more captive cetaceans. For decades the so-called “unreleaseables” have been used as a free source for aquarium/zoo animal markets.
Recent comments by John Nightingale claiming the Vancouver Aquarium (VA) never did whale and dolphin shows are just the tip of their iceberg of misinformation. CBC stated, “Nightingale's save-a-space-for-rescue whales song rings hollow for some, against the backdrop of the aquarium's long history of fatalities, punctuated by the death of two belugas — Qila and Aurora — in 2016.” (May 13). The Aquarium iceberg is melting. The truth is beginning to prevail. Aquariums and zoos failed to educate and to stop the decline of wildlife. The VA started the orca slave trade that decimated the Southern Resident Killer Whales. No more cetacean circus captives and “research tools”. Give Respect for Cetaceans!
The Aquarium fear mongers know very well that in the rare cetacean rescue cases there is a team from government, NPOs, companies, and the public that help. There are also many examples of local people rescuing orcas and others. The Bylaw ban isn’t going to increase harm to any cetacean. The VA recently said that it is also about jobs and loss of revenue. In 2007, they held a conference to discuss how to get more lucrative government and private business grants to grow their research and captivity businesses. VA calls sentient captives and “rescues” as “untapped resources” as “tools” for their questionable experiments.
Vancouver has been a world leader in being a Green City. Vancouver was one of the first to stop wild animal acts in circuses. Vancouver closed the Stanley Park Zoo. Vancouver tried to ban cetaceans in 1996.
Lifeforce has been fighting the VA expansions and captivity since 1980. Our direct action to document cruelty during the 1990 VA beluga hunt in Churchill, MB led to Canada ending captures and exports by foreign countries. 52 cetaceans have died in 52 years as a result of the Vancouver Aquarium pro cetacean captivity business.
“If people are against capturing and imprisoning wild cetaceans then they should also be against capturing frightened, sick, and injured wild cetaceans for a life sentence in a pool prison being subjected to highly questionable experiments, stated Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Founder, We cannot justify saving “rescues” for them to suffer and die in captivity.”
The Vancouver Parks Board is taking the humane highway. Recently France banned all cetacean breeding and any further captivity of cetaceans... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39834098#share-tools
Lifeforce recommendations were:
1. The three cetaceans presently at the aquarium should be retired from the day long forced circus tricks and stressful psychologically and/or physically painful experiments. For example, researchers tried for over a year to put blinders on two dolphins. They finally stopped trying to force one of the dolphins.
2. The Vancouver Aquarium (VA) should be looking for sea pens for such retirement and any possible future rescues. The VA has noisy public crowds all day and most evenings. Studies have shown that dolphins develop ulcers after being put on public display. A sea pen would allow for a diverse life with other sea life in a natural environment.
The Aquarium was trying to pen the lone orca, Springer, at their research station on nearby Popham Island, BC. The Aquarium should also locate any feasible DFO marine research stations and/or private businesses. There are several possibilities in BC waters. There are also non profit organizations that have located some suitable BC locations.
3. What exactly are their new plans for building more pools? The VA must reapply for a new building permit through proper public process for the present 2017 plans. The old 2006 expansion is outdated. Or they preferably would simply spend the government monies on sea pens not pool prisons.
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For further information: lifeforcesociety@hotmail.com
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