Infant whales, dolphins most at risk
Federal fisheries department says Vancouver Aquarium has sole capacity to respond
Newborn whales, dolphins and porpoises may be the first casualties of the Vancouver park board’s ban on new cetaceans at the Vancouver Aquarium.
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, also known as DFO, said the ban may mean its Marine Mammal Response Program will no longer be able to rescue cetaceans in distress, especially infant cetaceans, which are the most likely to need lifelong care when they are rescued from the wild.
“The biggest concern is neonates,” said DFO spokeswoman Lara Sloan. “A lot of animals can be released into the wild, but if they are neonates that are stranded, they haven’t had the opportunity to learn how to feed in the wild, to learn how to survive.”
The DFO will review the ban and study its implications for its rescue programs.
“Without the expertise of staff and facilities at the Vancouver Aquarium, we would not be able to rescue stranded or injured cetaceans,” she said. “They are the only facility in Canada capable of responding to such incidents.”
Without the option to house rehabilitated cetaceans long term, injured cetaceans are more likely to be euthanized, according to aquarium CEO John Nightingale.
“Animals like the false killer whale Chester would have been left to die on Chesterman Beach or the DFO would have had to put a bullet in him,” he said in an interview on CKNW radio. “Instead he was rescued and lives at the aquarium and will for the rest of his life, in human care.”
Monday evening, the park board voted 6-1 in favour of a ban on cetaceans at the Vancouver Aquarium. Three resident cetaceans — Chester, Helen the white-sided dolphin and Daisy the porpoise — will be allowed to live out their lives at the aquarium.
The ban will seriously hamper the aquarium’s cetacean rescue and rehabilitation programs, said Nightingale.
“I’m really disappointed for the animals that we won’t be rescuing in the future,” he said. “This is the only rescue centre for marine mammals in Canada, in part because we’ve been able to provide a long-term home for these animals that for whatever reason couldn’t go back and live in nature after being rescued.”
Cetacean captivity opponent Gary Charbonneau, director of the documentary film Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered, called Nightingale’s comments about the fate of injured cetaceans “desperate.”
“If DFO is going to euthanize an animal (shooting them) is not how they are going to do it,” he said, adding that neonate cetacean rescues are extremely rare.
The Vancouver Aquarium filed a lawsuit against Charbonneau last year over the use of footage in his film that it claims copyright to. The suit does not allege defamation.
“It shows you the lengths he is willing to go to preserve his captivity program,” Charbonneau said. “He’s been fearmongering for quite some time, claiming his whales don’t do tricks. These are gross misrepresentations.”
The park board bylaw amendment prohibits resident cetaceans from participating in any performance or show.
The death of two belugas late last year reignited the cetacean debate and led to the policy review by the park board.
Aurora, a 29-year-old female beluga died in late November just nine days after her 21-year-old daughter Qila died. An investigation determined the pair died from a toxin, which was never identified.
The bylaw amendments are expected to minimally affect the aquarium’s rescue and rehabilitation program as most rescues are harbour seals, the park board said in a statement.