Photo:Stan Sheebs
In April of this past year, the Vancouver Aquarium came under attack from animal activists and the respected Great Ape researcher Jane Goodall. Activists have been petitioning the Vancouver Aquarium, located in British Columbia, Canada, to discontinue their care of whales and dolphins (also known as Cetaceans).
Over its history, the Vancouver Aquarium has been a facility that has been actively involved with whales and dolphins and was the first facility in the world to have a Killer Whale on display. Over the years, their facilities have included dolphins, Narwhals and Beluga Whales as part of their marine mammal family.
In the 1980’s they had an amazing TV series that aired on the Disney Channel called “Danger Bay” that dramatized the life of a family that lived at the Vancouver Aquarium and rescued animals (which also happens to be my favorite TV show growing up).
While the Vancouver Aquarium might see more than 1 million visitors a year throughout it’s entire history, they have always been an education and science-based organization. That is why when animal rights activists attacked, the Vancouver Aquarium turned to science to guide them. They tasked researchers to investigate – asking them to find out if there is any value in continuing to have whales and dolphins in marine facilities.
What they discovered was astounding.
- Aquariums with Cetaceans see higher visitor-ship – When comparing aquariums and marine parks across the board, facilities with Cetaceans had more yearly visitors than facilities without Cetaceans (clearly the public wants to see and connect with whales and dolphins)
- Aquariums with Cetaceans do more rescues – 100% of Aquariums with Cetaceans perform and participate in marine mammal rescues compared to 40% of Aquariums without Cetaceans. Aquariums with Cetaceans also have the facilities, staff, equipment and expertise for long-term care and rehabilitation, where facilities without Cetaceans do not.
- Aquariums with Cetaceans do more research – With access to marine mammals, specifically whales and dolphins, these facilities are able to conduct research. At the Vancouver Aquarium, 15 out of 20 of their research papers have direct benefits to wild whale populations.
- Legislation is wildly exaggerated – While animal activists might try to do tweet storms and discuss how the “tide is changing”, out of the 79 countries around the world that have aquariums of any type only 5% have passed legislation restricting or prohibiting the display of Cetaceans.
These key points make clear that not only do people want to visit marine parks and aquariums with whales and dolphins, but the facilities that do care for these animals do more research and conduct more marine mammal rescues.
It is clear to us that these aquariums and marine parks still have a vital role to fill.
We encourage you to read the entire study here