COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
Box 461 - 1755 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6G 3B7
Tel 604.736.9514 Fax 604.264.0653
E-mail cfnwic@whaleprotection.org
www.whaleprotection.org
TO: Mayor Larry Campbell and Council
Vancouver City Hall
FAX: Mayor's Fax 604.873.7685
Councillors Fax 604.873.7750
DATE: September 9, 2003 PAGE 1 OF 2
RE: PROPOSED SEAL HOSPITAL IN DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER
Dear Mayor and City Councillors,
On behalf of the members and supporters of the Coalition For No Whales In Captivity, I am writing to express our concerns with the proposal to build a seal hospital in downtown Vancouver. We urge you to stop such misguided plans.
On August 28, the Vancouver Aquarium announced that it had obtained a business grant from Western Economic Diversification Canada to set up a seal rescue site at the foot of Main Street, on land donated by the Vancouver Port Authority. We were shocked to hear this announcement since no public consultation has taken place.
Apart from the obvious question of zoning in the area (would a zoo be allowed to be build there?), it seems irresponsible and contrary to all common sense to build a rescue centre for sick and injured seal pups in such a busy, noisy and polluted area in downtown Vancouver. Rescued seal pups are kept in small tubs outdoors and it seems criminal to subject them to noise, dust and chemical pollution coming from commercial businesses in the immediate area, such as the helicopter airport, the float plane terminal, the West Coast Express train tracks and the port of Vancouver.
Furthermore, we are concerned that the aquarium may be planning to open the facilities to the public, cashing in on being located on a street that is serviced by the tourist trolley buses, and only a block away from the sea bus, the cruise boat terminal, the Pan Pacific and other major hotels. Seals scheduled for release should not become accustomed to city noise, nor should they be allowed to become imprinted on humans. That would make it much more difficult for the pups to survive a reintroduction back to the ocean. The fact is that seal rescue facilities in North America are extremely careful not to subject the pups to loud noises and not get them used to humans.
In Canada, there are no regulations nor standards for rehabilitating or keeping, breeding and trading captive marine mammals. It is disturbing to recognize that the aquarium is not concerned about subjecting the seal pups to traffic noise and fumes, and we can't help but wonder if that's because some pups will be added to the supply of marine mammals the aquarium already offers to other marine parks around the world.
We would like to know why there has been no public consultation before the Vancouver Port Authority and the city of Vancouver donated more public land to the aquarium, and the federal government provided a $405,832 business grant to build a seal hospital in downtown Vancouver.
If the public were consulted, no doubt there would be an outcry against this outrageous proposal to treat sick seal pups in a facility downtown. Furthermore, the federal and municipal governments would have learned that the funding would have been better spent on the Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre (IWNCC), the largest seal rescue facility in B.C. located in a quiet wooded area on Salt Spring Island.
In a letter dated June 2, Mr. Jeff Lederman, director of the IWNCC wrote to Mr. John van der Hoven, director of the B.C. SPCA, "For your information, the Vancouver Aquarium is not "the" seal rescue centre, but rather one of two licensed facilities in BC; and I might add, not even the busiest or most dedicated. Last year, the Aquarium admitted 53 pups between July and October. Our small centre admitted 72 orphaned pups. We care for the seals from the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island and in the winter thru spring when the aquarium conveniently closes it's rehab facilities, we become the only centre admitting pups from all of BC, including the Vancouver area and as far away as Prince Rupert....The truth of the matter is that many of your (SPCA) branches transport seals to our facility on Salt Spring Island. More than thirty pups were transported from Victoria and Vancouver Island to us this summer. Many of these were picked up by the SPCA and many more were calls that were referred to us by the SPCA."
Mr. Lederman's letter then lists 10 examples in 2002 when one or two pups were sent to the IWNCC for treatment because the Vancouver Aquarium's facilities were closed. The SPCA donates $15,000 a year to the aquarium to run a seal rescue program, but donates nothing to the Salt Spring Island facility despite the fact that last year, the IWNCC purchased "45,000 pounds of frozen herring to feed the seal pups sent to us in part by the BC SPCA. This was at a cost of more than $30,000. Our staff works sixteen hour days six to seven days a week and I would be willing to bet that one Aquarium salary is larger than our entire payroll."
We respectfully request that the mayor and council review this situation and stop the plans to treat sick seal pups in such a busy and polluted area of downtown Vancouver. I would be happy to meet with you to provide you with more information.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Annelise Sorg, Director
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
CC: The Honourable Stephen Owen, Western Economic Diversification Canada
Mr. David Stow, Chairman, Vancouver Port Authority
Captain Gordon Houston, President and CEO, Vancouver Port Authority
Ms. Heather Deal, Chair, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Ms. Marilyn Joyce, Marine Mammal Coordinator, Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Mr. Larry Paike, Victoria District Supervisor, Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Mr. Jeff Lederman, Director, Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre
Mr. John van der Hoven, director of the B.C. SPCA
Dr. Jamie Lawson, Director of Animal Health, Vancouver SPCA
Mr. Greig Jenkison, Regional Manager, Victoria SPCA
Mr. Jim Kershaw, Chairman, Vancouver Public Aquarium Association