TO:  ALL VANCOUVER PARK BOARD COMMISSIONERS
FROM:  THE COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY

March 20th Park Board meeting Notice of Motion - Dolphin Bylaw Amendments

Dear Park Board Commissioners,

Members and supporters of the Coalition For No Whales in Captivity will speak to the notice of motion regarding amendments to the 1996 Whale And Dolphin Protection By-Law, at the upcoming Park Board meeting on March 20. However, I would like to provide you with some relevant information for you to review prior to that meeting.

Following below are our comments and excerpts regarding the By-Law extracted from your website from the minutes of meetings held in September 16, September 26, September 30, October 28 and November 4, 1996: http://www.parks.vancouver.bc.ca

Since Nov. 1995, the Coalition For No Whales in Captivity and others (including former Park Board Commissioners Tim Louis and Donna Morgan), have been urging the Park Board to hold a public referendum on the issue of bringing more cetaceans into Stanley Park. Vancouverites voted to phase out the zoo in 1993 and we have no doubt that if given the opportunity, Vancouverites would also vote to phase out the whale and dolphin exhibits in Stanley Park. After all, there is no difference between keeping a bear in a cage and keeping a dolphin in a tank.

In 1996, after hearing hundreds of delegations on this matter, former Chairman Dave Chesman proposed the original wording for the By-Law which would have firmly restricted the Aquarium from importing new dolphins and would have caused a phase out of cetacean exhibits. The Minutes of the Sept.16, 1996 Park Board meeting read:

"Moved by Commissioner Chesman,

That the Aquarium be invited to enter in a Park Board/Aquarium accord to be negotiated with the Aquarium and recorded in a Memorandum of Understanding . MOU will be secured by an Aquarium lease renewal and/or amendment to the Park Board By law incorporating the following terms and conditions:

1. That there be a prohibition against the Aquarium capturing or causing to be captured cetaceans for importation to the Vancouver Park Board system. That such prohibition have the following two strictly limited exceptions:

a. Importation of cetaceans from the wild for the purpose of rehabilitation, where rehabilitation is deemed necessary by a named neutral third party to be identified OR b. For the purpose of preserving an endangered cetacean species as named by a neutral third party.

2. That there be a mechanism to guard against a domino effect.

3. That the MOU would speak to the Aquarium's commitment to investigate, and where viable, implement multi-media educational programs in addition to, and complementary to, live whale exhibits.

4. Increased research and participation in release and rehabilitation science." ________________________________________________

If Commissioner Chesman's original wording for the By-law had not been amended later on at the Aquarium's request, I would not be writing to you today because there would no longer be a need to approach the board with issues of keeping whales in captivity.

But back in 1996, the Aquarium influenced the Park Board and City Hall and changed the original wording in order to create a loophole which now allows the Aquarium to continue bringing cetaceans in perpetuity.

Following is an excerpt from the Minutes of the Sept. 26 1996 special Park Board meeting held at Robson Square:

"Commissioner Morgan: At the meeting of July 31 (1996), we said that in the long term we would look towards phasing out, and you are telling me tonight that you are not going down that road after all?

Dr. Nightingale: We can see the start of the road, but we can't see around the bend.

Commissioner Morgan: You are not willing to see phasing out as a long term goal?

Dr. Nightingale: No. I am not willing to put that restriction in the future." ___________________

Bt November 1996, the By-Law's wording was amended (see below) to make sure that there would never be a phase out of dolphin exhibits in Stanley Park. Following is an excerpt of the Minutes of the meeting held on November 4, 1996 with the infamous amendment:

"Moved by Commissioner Wilson,

THAT the By-law to amend Section 9 of the Parks Control Bylaw reflect the wording prepared by the City's Law Department, as follows:

Section 9 of the Parks Control By-Law is amended by inserting the following except:

(e) No person shall bring into any park or keep or otherwise maintain in any park any aquatic mammal of the Cetacean order including, but not limited to, baleen whales, narwhals, dolphins, porpoises, killer whales and beluga whales, which has been captured or otherwise taken from its natural wild habitat, EXCEPT THAT THIS PROHIBITION SHALL NOT APPLY TO - captive cetaceans caught from the wild prior to September 16, 1996, and cetaceans born into captivity at any time, - cetaceans which are already being kept or maintained in a park as of September 16, 1996." __________________________

The fact that the Aquarium got away with this is amazing since throughout the 1996 By-law negotiations, 5 out of the 7 commissioners publicly stated their opposition to keeping whales in captivity (D.Chesman, D.Wilson, A.DeGenova, T.Louis and D.Morgan).

Now you have the opportunity at the next Park Board meeting on Monday 20th to do what's right for Vancouver and to protect all whales and dolphins. We urge you to amend the wording of the bylaw to restrict importation of all cetaceans into Stanley Park, regardless of where they come from.

We recommend that Section 9 of the Parks Control By-Law be amended by coming to a full stop after "...natural wild habitat." and deleting the sentence starting with "except that...". The bylaw would then read:

"(e) No person shall bring into any park or keep or otherwise maintain in any park any aquatic mammal of the Cetacean order including, but not limited to, baleen whales, narwhals, dolphins, porpoises, killer whales and beluga whales, which has been captured or otherwise taken from its natural wild habitat."

Please feel free to contact me throughout the weekend if you would like more information. I'm always available to discuss the cruelty of keeping cetaceans in captivity.

Sincerely,

Annelise Sorg, 
Director 
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY 
Box 461, 1755 Robson St. 
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6G 3B7 

Tel: (604) 736-9514 
Fax: (604) 731-2733 

E-mail: annelise@direct.ca 
http://www.whaleprotection.org