Vancouver Park Board bans new whales, dolphins, porpoises at aquarium
The Vancouver park board voted Monday to ban new cetaceans at the Vancouver Aquarium, a move the aquarium says threatens the work of its marine mammal rescue program. But one animal-rights activist who has been protesting the aquarium’s cetacean program for decades greeted the decision with applause and cheers.
Hundreds of aquarium supporters stood outside the parkboard offices in the rain Monday for more than two hours, carrying placards and voicing opposition to the ban, but failed to sway the board.
Commissioner Catherine Evans, who supports the ban, said there is a moral imperative to act.
“We can keep cetaceans in captivity and there can be a debate about the relative comfort and safety of the cetaceans, but we have reached a point now where we know we shouldn’t,” Evans said during the meeting. “There are other options.”
The board voted to change its bylaws to ban new dolphins, whales or porpoises — including sick or injured ones — at the aquarium, which drew a record 1.2 million visitors last year.
It will allow the aquarium to keep and display the three cetaceans currently in its care — Helen, a Pacific white-side dolphin; Daisy, a harbour porpoise; and Chester, a false killer whale — but prohibits the aquarium from using the animals in shows, performances or any form of entertainment.
Before the vote, Vancouver Aquarium CEO Dr. John Nightingale said a ban on bringing cetaceans to the aquarium effectively shuts down its ability to rescue injured whales, porpoises and dolphins.
“We would still respond to rescues in the field, but most of the cetaceans that get rescued are youngsters separated from their moms and need a long-term home,” he said.
The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, located at the north end of Main Street, does not have the capacity to house cetaceans longterm.
Without a viable long-term home, Fisheries and Oceans Canada — which greenlights every cetacean rescue — will likely not issue a permit, meaning the animal would be left to die on a beach or be put down, said Nightingale.
But some park board commissioners disputed the aquarium’s position, saying the board’s decision does not prevent the mammal marine rescue centre from continuing its rescue and rehabilitation work.
“The choice of whether the marine mammal centre works with cetaceans is entirely their own,” said Stuart MacKinnon.
In recent months, the Vancouver Aquarium mounted a campaign to push back against critics.
More than 13,000 letters in support of the aquarium were sent to the park board, Nightingale said, and public polls indicate there is 95 per cent support for the rescue program.