The board of Vancouver Park has voted unanimously in favour of ending captive breeding of cetaceans at its aquarium, unless they are a threatened species.
It also asked the aquarium to investigate alternatives to whale and dolphin captive displays and has ordered the establishment of an oversight committee of experts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the cetaceans kept there, which include belugas, Pacific white-sided dolphins and harbour porpoises.
The news follows statements from Vancouver's Mayor and Park Board Commissioners, Constance Barnes and Sarah Blyth, supporting a phase out of whale and dolphin captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium.
The Vancouver Park by-law already prohibits the import of whales and dolphins captured in the wild after September 1996. An amendment to prohibit captive breeding should prevent further whales and dolphins being born at the aquarium and spending their lifetime in captivity.
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