The Vancouver park board voted 5-0 to ban the breeding of whales and dolphins at the Vancouver Aquarium during a meeting July 31.
The aquarium will be able to continue keeping cetaceans in captivity, but the park board will create an oversight committee to further study the welfare of the animals.
“We’re deeply disappointed [the park board] has decided to take our expertise in protecting cetaceans and transferred it to an external committee,” aquarium staff tweeted following the vote.
The park board had been considering whether to completely ban keeping cetaceans in captivity.
In media interviews August 1, aquarium CEO John Nightingale said the decision now means animals that have been kept together will now have to be separated to prevent them from breeding.
The vote followed a marathon public meeting stretching over several days in which animal rights activists argued keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity is inhumane.
The Vancouver Aquarium has said keeping cetaceans is necessary for research and education purposes. It no longer captures whales or dolphins from the wild.
Earlier this spring, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson said he was in favour of gradually phasing out the cetacean program at the aquarium. Robertson is running for re-election this November as part of the Vision Vancouver slate.
NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe voiced his support for the aquarium in a statement released July 31.
“[Robertson’s] views have triggered a disruptive process that is costing the city’s taxpayers untold amounts of money in public hearings and consulting fees,” LaPointe said.
Four former mayors of Vancouver — Mike Harcourt, Philip Owen, Larry Campbell and Sam Sullivan — have also released statements supporting the aquarium’s marine research and conservation efforts.
The aquarium is currently planning a $50 million expansion of its facilities, which will include larger tanks for whales and dolphins.
