Castanet

On September 16, 1996, Vancouver Aquarium took a leadership role and became the first aquarium in the world to make a commitment to no longer capture cetaceans (whales and dolphins) from the wild for display and to only care for:

Cetaceans that were captured before 1996
Cetaceans that were already being kept in a zoo or aquarium before 1996
Cetaceans that were born in a zoo or aquarium
Cetaceans that were rescued from the wild and rehabilitated, but deemed non-releasable by the appropriate government authorities

Silverstarqueen wrote:Most wildlife is left to their own devices. Hundreds, thousands of wild animals die without human intervention. Shouldn't we then put wild wolves, deer, bears, in captive zoos, rather cull them, if we are just trying to save lives? (Surely their lives count too, no less than whales). Unless they are trying to save a species (which rarely works, it ends up being "saved" in captivity), what is the purpose of putting individual whales in captivity "for their own good"? Or is it just an excuse so the humans have their pretty entertainment?

Fancy wrote:I think some people have missed this:

On September 16, 1996, Vancouver Aquarium took a leadership role and became the first aquarium in the world to make a commitment to no longer capture cetaceans (whales and dolphins) from the wild for display and to only care for:

Cetaceans that were captured before 1996
Cetaceans that were already being kept in a zoo or aquarium before 1996
Cetaceans that were born in a zoo or aquarium
Cetaceans that were rescued from the wild and rehabilitated, but deemed non-releasable by the appropriate government authorities

What do people expect? Never try to help those in distress?

Silverstarqueen wrote: What is the purpose of "rescuing" them from the wild.

Silverstarqueen wrote:No more need to be captured just to put in a zoo.
Those that were born in captivity will have to remain because there is no sense in releasing them, only question is who pays the bill?
What is the purpose of "rescuing" them from the wild. Wild animals normally survive or die, there is no reason to "rescue" them, they are a normal part of the balance of nature, some live, some die. Same as any other wild animal.
If humans are doing something to endanger a species you can regulate the human behavior which is causing this. Putting these animals in a tank is not rescuing them, unless their habitat is also rescued.

In 1996, the Vancouver Park Board instituted a municipal bylaw that prevents the Vancouver Aquarium from capturing cetaceans from the wild for display purposes, and only obtain cetaceans from other facilities if they were born in captivity, captured before 1996 or were rescued and deemed un-releasable after this date.

For many years, the primary attraction for visitors was the orca show. The Aquarium was the first to capture and display a killer whale, Moby Doll, in a pen at Burrard Drydocks, for 3 months in 1964. Since then, it was home to Skana, Hyak II, Finna, Bjossa, and three of Bjossa's calves. When Finna died and Bjossa was left without other orca companions, the Aquarium attempted to acquire one or more female orcas from other marine parks. However, no suitable companions were found, and Bjossa was moved to SeaWorld, San Diego, in April 2001 where she later died due to a chronic respiratory illness. The Aquarium has since moved to emphasize the educational aspects of the displays rather than the public spectacle of the shows. They have also highlighted their research, rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Vancouver Aquarium has not kept any orcas in captivity since 2001 and has pledged not to capture wild animals, but to instead rely on captive animals for breeding.

Helen is an approximately 30-year-old female dolphin at the Aquarium. She came to the Aquarium from the Enoshima Aquarium in Japan, and is also claimed to have been rescued from entanglement in a fishing net. Helen was part of a multi-year and multi-facility research project focusing on metabolic studies while she was at the Enoshima Aquarium, and is part of a pilot project to understand whale echolocation abilities to prevent whales in the future from becoming entangled in fishing nets.[15] She is distinguishable by the fact that her pectoral flippers are partially amputated due to damage from her entanglement. Helen's tankmate Chester the False Killer Whale joined her at the Wild Coast on Thursday, June 24, 2015. As of November 24, 2017 Helen is the only cetacean left at Vancouver Aquarium after her tank mate Chester died earlier that same day