Vancouver Aquarium Fights Back Against Blackfish Legislation

The head of the Vancouver Aquarium is standing up to a new round of activist attempts to shut down all zoos and aquariums. This latest round of publicity stunts aimed at destroying amazing facilities like the Vancouver Aquarium is proposed “legislation” in Canada that would ban cetaceans in marine parks. Opponents are saying it would rob Canadians of valuable research meant to conserve such animals in the wild.

The aquarium’s executive director John Nightingale said the proposed ban is misguided because aquariums are essential to understanding the creatures and protecting them from climate change and pollution.

“I am fond of saying I wish we lived in a world where we didn’t need places like Vancouver Aquarium, but nature isn’t free. Humans are having a bigger and bigger impact … and we need to do a better job of reducing our impact,” Nightingale told the Vancouver Observer.

Blackfish-inspired legislation, like the measure proposed by Canadian Senator Wilfred Moore, are popping up all over the place. It’s a quick and easy way for some politicians to get their name in the press and get that attention they crave.

The real truth about this effort is that this is a publicity stunt as senators in Canada are appointed and real legislation usually originates in the elected House of Commons. The unelected senator who is sponsoring the legislation also hails from the opposite side of the country from Vancouver Aquarium.

Of course, this gross stunt does provide a chance for Blackfish cast members to comment and cling to relevancy.

Cue a cast member and an inaccurate statement:

Jeffrey Ventre, a former SeaWorld trainer and Blackfish cast member, said all marine parks portray themselves as conservation entities contributing to science and education.

“It’s mostly a facade,” he said. “There might be a small educational component but it’s not borne out in the peer−reviewed literature. There’s no scientific basis for that claim.

Ventre says there’s no peer-reviewed literature supporting the claim that zoos and aquariums educate visitors on conservation?

Wrong.

David Powell, Wildlife Conservation Society’s Department of Mammalogy, and Elizabeth Bullock, University of Edinburgh’s Department of Psychology, published a scholarly paper: Evaluation of Factors Affecting Emotional Responses in Zoo Visitors and the Impact of Emotion on Conservation Mindedness.

The Powell/Bullock paper’s key find is that visitors experiencing active animals up close motivates an emotional, empathetic response that shifts their attitudes and fosters a personal responsibility for stewardship of our oceans and the wildlife that lives there.

Vancouver Aquarium is right to stand up against this type of reactionary legislation. They serve an exceptional role in educating the public on marine life and inspiring conservation efforts needed to protect it.

Learn more about Vancouver Aquariums education and conservation efforts here.