Will the future keeping of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) at the Vancouver Aquarium be placed into the hands of Vancouver voters? The answer is ……maybe.
 
On Monday evening the matter was discussed by Vancouver Aquarium’s Park Board after the Boards Chair, Sarah Kirby-Yung, proposed a motion asking the Aquarium to “consider not bringing cetaceans into the facility until after the results of a 2018 vote by the city’s residents.” This comes at a time when the Aquarium is considering plans to expand their tanks to make way for more whales. After a packed Vancouver Park Board meeting , the outcome was to delay the decision for a residents vote for another month.
 
The proposal for a vote by the residents of Vancouver on the future keeping of captive cetaceans at Vancouver Aquarium arose last year following the deaths of the Aquariums last two beluga whales, Qila and Aurora, who died just nine days apart in November 2016. The loss of both individuals meant that Vancouver Aquarium no longer has any whales in captivity. There are no orcas and now no beluga whales, therefore it seems an ideal time for the Aquarium to ban the import of any more.
 
Time and again opinion polls by Vancouver residents have highlighted the desire to see an end to the keeping of cetaceans in captivity. The results of the latest Checkpoint poll, which ran on monday, showed that 76% of respondents voted in favour of a ‘ban on the keeping of whales and other marine mammals in captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium’. In 1997 Vancouver residents voted for the closure of Vancouver Zoo. It therefore seems hopeful that the same city will carry the movement forward to end the captivity of cetaceans in Vancouver.