Vancouver Sun EDITORIAL
Aquarium is much more than 'a prison camp for cetaceans'
July 19, 2005
The unexpected death of a three-year-old beluga whale at the Vancouver Aquarium on Sunday has resurrected concerns about keeping such animals in captivity.
Some animal welfare activists have argued that the sudden death of the calf is proof that large animals like whales should be left in the wild. In fact, a group called the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity portrays the Vancouver Aquarium as a prison camp for cetaceans, citing the number of deaths in captivity without reference to the mortality rate in the wild.
There's little doubt that wild animals are usually best left to survive and thrive in their natural habitat and, accordingly, the Vancouver Aquarium does not capture whales from the wild.
But there's no reason yet to link the death of Tuvaq, the beluga, to its captivity. First, Tuvaq was born into captivity and knew no other life. Second, the cause of death will not be known until the results of a necropsy have been analyzed. Until then, the speculation that it was a heart attack or an aneurysm is just that -- speculation.
It would be doubly unfortunate if this tragic event were used by animal rights groups or others to attempt to limit the work of the Vancouver Aquarium.
While the aquarium is best known as a marine zoo, and popular tourist attraction, it is much more. It is a self-financed research laboratory, educational institution and conservation agency.
It can claim to have raised more species of fish than any other laboratory in the world and has documented the DNA of a number of species, including killer whales and sea otters, ensuring that none will be lost forever.
This research occasionally requires taking animals from the wild for conservation breeding, transplanting to areas where stocks have depleted or other purposes. Captive breeding programs have successfully reintroduced many species that had been either endangered or even extinct.
Sometimes, the Vancouver Aquarium scientific team treats sick or injured animals and releases them back into the wild.
The Vancouver Aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Centre saves and treats an average of 50 sick or stranded marine animals a year, mainly baby seal pups. In April, its scientists rescued a grey whale, with enthusiastic support from passersby, which had beached itself off Centennial Beach in Delta.
In an ideal world, everyone would have ready access to the wilderness to observe, learn and enjoy animals in their natural state. Sadly, that's not the world we live in.
The only experience many people will have of the vast array of marine life at B.C.'s doorstep is the Vancouver Aquarium. The more people see, understand and appreciate this underwater world, the more inclined they will be to protect it.
The greatest threat to animal welfare is not institutions like the Vancouver Aquarium taking a few species from the wild, but rather the loss of habitat, pollution and human consumption of endangered species.
The Vancouver Aquarium plays an important role in informing the public about the consequences of human activity on marine life. It founded the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which has grown from 200 volunteers cleaning up Coal Harbour a decade ago to an army of 32,000 who last year collected 64,988 kilos of garbage from Canada's beaches, wetlands and river banks.
More than 50,000 students participate every year in the Vancouver Aquarium school program, which introduces children to the living ocean and conservation.
The Vancouver Aquarium's aquatic show, featuring performances by resident dolphins, continues to outrage animal rights activists. However, the attraction is a draw for tourists, who account for 70 per cent of admission revenue, and that supports much of the institution's research, education and conservation work.
The death of a baby beluga is an unfortunate and tragic event. If the findings of the necropsy reveal information that could help Vancouver Aquarium scientists help other animals, Tuvaq's death won't have been in vain.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
WEST COAST news
Beluga autopsy a bust, more tests planned
By Nicholas Read
VANCOUVER - It may be weeks before staff at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre know what killed Tuvaq, their three-year-old baby beluga.
An autopsy done Sunday night turned up nothing, aquarium veterinarian David Huff said Monday. So now it will be up to a more complicated series of tests conducted at the provincial animal pathology lab in Abbotsford to determine the cause of death. And it may be up to four or five weeks before the results of those tests are known, Huff said.
Even then there is no guarantee that they will solve the mistery. “That would be very frustrating,” Huff said, “but it could happen.”
Tuvak, one of only 2 belugas conceived and born at the aquarium, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday morning before a crowd of onlookers, just 3 days before his third birthday.
“It was analogous to a young, fit basketball player falling over on the court,” Huff said.
Five other belugas were in the pool with him at the time of his death, including his mother and aunt. All 5 whales stayed by his side for several hours, Huff said, but on Monday appeared to have resumed their normal activity.
Animal rights activists say Tuvak’s death highlights the cruelty of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.
“In captivity, whales and dolphins suffer physically and psychologically, since their behavioural and social needs cannot be met in captivity,” Lifeforce founder Peter Hamilton said in a statement. “Cetaceans die prematurely as a result of being exploited for entertainment and research.”
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Whales can't thrive in an alien environment
"We don't have the slightest idea [what caused Tuvaq's death]," says Dr. David Huff of the Vancouver Aquarium. Really? Common sense dictates that it's more than likely captivity is to blame. When you raise an animal in an alien environment that is thousands or millions times smaller than his natural environment, how can you expect him to thrive?
It’s time that the public, including our economic-stimulating tourist, stopped paying the aquarium to abuse animals for public entertainment under the thinly disguise veil of education. Shame on the aquarium and shame on those who pay to watch animals suffer.
Debra Probert, Executive director
Vancouver Humane Society
Aquarium staff deserve support
It feels almost like tradition: Tragedy strikes the Vancouver Aquarium, and Annelise Sorg of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity pops up to take advantage of it. I'm consistently disappointed in The Sun for lending credibility to this lonely and uncredentialed voice. I'll never understand how she can look at the whales and see what she sees.
My condol\ences go out to the staff of the aquarium (and to belugas Aurora, Kavna, Imaq, Allua and Qila), and I continue to support them in their commendable efforts.
Steve Vanden-Eykel
New Westminster
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