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Orcas And Other Marine Life Must Not Be Mistreated Like “lab” Animals! (part 2)
posted on April 28, 2023
Pro Research Captivity Conference
In 2007, a conference was held at the Vancouver Aquarium to discuss how to get lucrative government, military, and private business grants. The meeting included the US Navy. They actually discussed the major differences between captives and those living in the wild. They deemed wildlife rescues and captives to be “untapped resources” and research “tools”.
Twenty-two sea lions pups were abducted from their moms in the wild for UBC research at the Vancouver Aquarium. Fur seals were also captured. One of the report photos showed them joking about restraining sea lions with an employee lying in the restraint device with 2 sea lions forced to stand on each side. See “Marine Mammals in the Lab: Tools for Conservation and Science” LAB "TOOLS" CONFERENCE.
Canadian Bans on Cetacean Captivity
In 1996, Lifeforce succeeded in implementing a Cetacean Bylaw to end the captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium. It was watered down over the years. In 2017, it was improved and finally achieved the intended end of cetacean captivity.
The 2019 Canada wide “cetacean ban” perpetuates captivity because it permitted keeping “rescues” for claimed “legitimate scientific research”. This is the same old excuse used for decades to animals in research laboratories.
At the Senate hearings the Vancouver Aquarium employees stated that needed captive cetaceans for research. One, who studied captive belugas there for 7 years, claimed that captive belugas studies were needed and could not be done in the wild. This person is studying now cetaceans in the wild and is an advisor to the Whale Sanctuary Project. (Note: Contrary to researchers’ claims beluga vocalizations were discovered decades ago by Leone Pippard et. al. and helped her established the St. Lawrence habitat protection.)
There may well be a new aquarium industry rebranding under the guise of tourism “research sanctuaries”.
Experiments on Endangered Orcas
In 2018, the dying J50, Scarlet, and her family were continuously pursued for experiments. It was even proposed to take Scarlet from the family and put her into captivity. Family member J35, Tahlequah, had already had mourn the passing of her newborn by carrying and mourning the loss for 17 days.
Industries, such as Sea World, Vancouver Aquarium and UC Sea Docs (affiliated with UC Gorilla Docs), want to obtain medical records and have expanded experiments on every single endangered Southern Resident orcas. They support testing vaccines and antibiotics in spite of the unknown side effects. Sea World has developed a vaccine for their captives.
Sea World was banned from Washington for capturing and killing orcas for aquariums. But they are back! ASSea World is now funding some US government’s NOAA projects. A former orca capturer even conducts experiments on the orcas. Watch the video of the Vancouver Aquarium and others chasing J pod for days to shoot with antibiotics.
The “Alternatives” Plan for Humane, Non invasive Technologies
Boat traffic is one of 3 major threats...but research approvals don’t include boat noise impacts. The research vessels can get right on top of them! It’s time that it stops!
Lifeforce’s New Plan for Orca Protection promotes humane, non invasive technological advances that will increase information about the lives and travel patterns of the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) and other wildlife.
This can include land based whale watching/monitoring (with high power telescopes and other research equipment); land based drone monitoring; hydrophones and motion sensing cameras on navigation markers and at land bases; the tracking/vocal identifications by the use of vast government, university and other hydrophone networks in the Salish Sea and oceans; satellite monitoring and many more humane methodologies.
Boat traffic is one of the three major threats to SRKW survival. Government agencies and others must recognize the threats by the ongoing unnecessary research vessels. Continuous invasive research with continuous long close follows and getting on top of frightened orcas must be stopped. These decades of experiments have not saved the SRKWs!
The research industry must stop treating marine life as research tools for lucrative grants and careers. Alternatives are available to stop the excessive, barbaric experiments and studying them to death!
Spread the Word! Spread the Petition: Orcas Must Not Be Mistreated Like Lab Animals!
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION!
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