Dear All,
The Province newspaper, another Vancouver Aquarium media sponsor like the Vancouver Sun and Global TV, has published today a pro-aquarium expansion editorial that needs to be addressed.
For more ammunition I send you Zoocheck Canada's poll where they show that 68.3% of Vancouverites do not want the aquarium bringing more whales and dolphins to Stanley Park
http://www.zoocheck.com/programs/marine/vancouver/poll.shtml
The aquarium's claim that they would bring rescued whales is ridiculous since there has never ever been one whales or dolphin stranded on our coast that has been rescued and sent to the aquarium facility in Stanley Park in the last 50 years the aquarium's been there. The last two dolphins brought from Japan in Oct. 05 were not "rescued" as the aquarium implies, they were captured and never released because in Japan it's against the law to let a dolphin go free. They either put them on display or eat them!
Please write to the Province editor provletters@png.canwest.com
Thank you!
Annelise Sorg
NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
www.nowhalesincaptivity.org
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Province editorial:
Survey shows that the aquarium expansion is a swimming idea
If you thought the survey results would silence the aquarium's critics, you couldn't be more wrong
The Province EDITORIAL
Published: Sunday, November 12, 2006
Plans for an $80-million expansion at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park were always going to be controversial.
First, there's the question of the amazing wildlife that provides its major attraction. Some folks think that, in addition to providing pleasure to scores of visitors, keeping whales and dolphins in captivity offers an important educational opportunity for children and others who may not be able to view these animals in the wild.
Others just can't abide the thought of keeping these animals in captivity, feeling they need much more space and freedom.
Then, there is the integrity of the park itself. The expansion would double the aquarium's footprint from 1.2 to 4.9 hectares.
And it is a fair question to ask: Where do you draw the line before Stanley Park disappears under a concrete apron?
But these questions have now been asked. And the clear answer appears to be that a large majority of citizens in the Greater Vancouver Regional District want the expansion to proceed, more or less as planned.
In an opinion poll commissioned by the aquarium and conducted by the Vancouver market-research firm Synovate, a remarkable 85 per cent "moderately or strongly" supported the project.
If you thought that the survey results would silence the aquarium's critics, however, you
would be wrong. Annelise Sorg, director of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity, said the poll questions were "loaded and misleading" and that the results were a "farce."
This is hardly fair. The firm doing the poll not only has its reputation to consider, it is bound by professional standards it is required to uphold.
Another group, The Lifeforce Foundation, opposes the expansion on the grounds the aquarium "exploits and imprisons wildlife" and "has a 50-year history of sadness and death."
But the aquarium is prohibited from acquiring wildlife in the wild. And the poll found major support for the ways in which the whales and dolphins wind up there. Some 75 per cent of respondents said the aquarium should be allowed to acquire injured animals in need of human care to survive.
The expansion plans go to the Vancouver Park Board for approval later this month. Construction could begin by spring and be complete by the time of the 2010 Vancouver Games.
In our opinion, due diligence has been done. And no unreasonable obstacles should be placed in the way of what is, after all, one of our city's foremost attractions.