Dear All,
Here's another letter to the editor from an aquarium person who didn't bother to identify himself and the fact that he is long-time aquarium director DAVE HARRIS, owner of Reed Point Marina in Port Moody, where the aquarium trains sea lions for open-water operations.
On Sept. 18, another such pro-aquarium letter was published in the Sun giving kudos to the editors of the newspaper for publishing a second pro-aquarium editorial in 3 days (Sept.13 and 16). That letter was written by Lynne DeCew, aquarium marketing director and former high-end employee of Palmer Jarvis, probably the most expensive advertising company in Vancouver. Of course, Ms. DeCew did not identify herself as aquarium staff, either.
In the letter posted below, aquarium director Dave Harris cleverly plays tricks with his letter to the editor. First he slaps the aquarium's wrist while calling it a "non-profit" organization. Then he pretends the whole issue of expansion worries the park board because it's only about losing trees to the construction, not the fact that Vancouverites are concerned with the aquarium's proposal to build a HUGE new dolphin tank with maternity areas and dolphin petting pools.
Letters to the editor sunletters@png.canwest.com
Thanks,
Annelise Sorg
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
www.nowhalesincaptivity.org
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Vancouver Sun 4 October 2006
Aquarium expansion worthy of approval rather than park board roadblocks
It made my blood boil to see the two-page advertising spread by the Vancouver Aquarium in the Vancouver Sun on Sept. 26. Just how much did that cost this non-profit organization? Why did they have to go to that length? Vancouver park board commissioners should hang their heads in shame.
Stanley Park has two big attractions that the great majority of us, as well as visitors to our city, use and enjoy. One is the Vancouver Aquarium. The other is the seawall. The rest of the great forest is wonderful but seldom used by most people. When a storm hits. we lose many of the big old trees. That's nature. They will grow back over time. Yet a small group with a warped agenta to "save" a few small trees has completely cowed this wimpish park board.
Can you imagine if the seawall were a new proposal today? It would not have a chance of passing, yet it is a jewel in the park, a signature or our city. The number of trees it would take to create the seawall would have our board fainting away at the very thought. Thank goodness the elected people of that day had the foresight and the intestinal fortitude to listen to the "doers", not the naysayers.
Come on, park commissioners, show some leadership and offer encouragement to this wonderful institution instead of throwing up roadblocks. The expansion will be an asset for years to come. The few trees can be replaced.
Dave Harris
Vancouver
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It has just recently come to my attention that in October 2006, Annelise Sorg posted a message on the Animal Advocates forum in which she referred to my September 2006 letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun. Ms. Sorg describes me as "aquarium marketing director and former high-end employee of Palmer Jarvis, probably the most expensive advertising company in Vancouver", and states that "of course, Ms. DeCew did not identify herself as aquarium staff".
As Ms. Sorg seems to be so well-informed about what goes on at the Aquarium, I'm surprised that she was not aware that I resigned my position there in June 2006, three months before I wrote that letter to the Sun. I have had no professional involvement with the Aquarium since that time, and did not write the letter out of any sense of obligation to a former employer. I wrote it only because, after six years as a senior staff member, I could speak first-hand about the Aquarium, it's exceptionally high standards of animal care, and its unique achievements in research and education. I believe that Ms. Sorg owes me an apology for accusing me of misrepresenting myself. She also owes the Aquarium (which has done so much to advance our knowledge of and concern for whales and other aquatic species) an apology for this and many, many other instances of ill-informed, misleading criticism.
Lynne DeCew
P. S.
I am truly puzzled by Ms. Sorg's reference to my former "high end" position with Palmer Jarvis (which actually changed its name to DDB Canada in 1999), and her description of that company as "probably the most expensive . . . in Vancouver". Perhaps Ms. Sorg thinks my views would be more credible if I was a former low-end employee of the cheapest advertising company in Vancouver? What this has to do with the topic of cetaceans at the Aquarium I can't imagine, but, for the record, while Palmer Jarvis/DDB is probably not the least expensive advertising company in Vancouver, it is a highly-regarded firm that does a great deal of pro bono work for worthy non-profit organizations, including the United Way, St. Paul's Hospital, the SPCA and the Aquarium.