Pictured outside the Vancouver Aquarium during a local protest, animal-rights activist Marley Daviduk advocates to end the captivity of cetaceans. Photography by STEPHEN HUI, The Georgia Strait
Captivity of marine mammals is often at the apex of marine related issues, since the release of the critically acclaimed documentary Blackfish, which has led to the relentless debate of whether whales can be happy and healthy while living in captivity.
At the center of this debate is myself, an advocate against captivity, and all of its guts and glory. In regards to local captivity concerns, I was naturally delighted at the Vancouver park board’s resolution to ban the breeding of dolphins and whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, this past summer (CBC News, August 2014). Subjectively, breeding in such environments will never end the vicious cycle of captivity, and although not a direct captivity issue, the breeding ban is rendered a product thereof.
Statistically speaking, the Vancouver Aquarium’s breeding program is quite successful, in terms of producing offspring, but what about the survival of the offspring? Albeit not in Vancouver, male beluga whales that are on loan to several SeaWorld facilities are believed to have fathered at least 12 calves, several of whom were stillborn or have since then died (Globe and Mail, August 2014). In Vancouver, however, beluga whale Aurora gave birth to Qila naturally, who in turn gave birth to Tiqa, whom subsequently died at the age of three, which is much lower than average life expectancy of 25 to 30 years; other calves of Aurora’s also died at young ages (Globe and Mail, August 2014). So with high mortality rates of whales in such facilities despite the means of, as mentioned in a letter by Dr. Jane Goodall, why breed at all? (CBC News, May 2014).
– See the rest of Dr. Jane Goodall’s letter here
Nevertheless, the ban raises some concerns from an ethical standpoint. As stated by Andrew Trites, director of the marine mammal research unit at UBC, forcing abstinence on the whales would require actions such as surgical sterilization, contraceptives and intentionally housing males and females separately (Vancouver Sun, August 2014). With such actions in place, the normal lives of the whales will be impacted physically, mentally, and socially. In addition to the breeding ban, the park board has proposed an oversight committee consisting of animal welfare experts, without “scientific expertise”, to handle the direct welfare of the whales (CBC News, August 2014). Thus, in opposition of the ban, a legal challenge has been filed by the Vancouver Aquarium, advocating that the ban be lifted and that the aquarium management and staff should be left alone to do their job. So should they be allowed?
After some heartfelt pondering, for both sides of the argument, I remain in support of the breeding ban on the Vancouver Aquarium. As for the rescue and rehabilitation of cetaceans, I am grateful. However, this world is survival of the fittest, and if captivity isn’t the dagger in these cetaceans’ survival, I don’t know what is. So here’s a step towards phasing out captivity, and the end of this whale jail.
References:
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/expert+pans+Vancouver+aquarium+breeding/10092309/story.html
http://www.vanaquafacts.org/media/captivebreeding.jpg
