Aug. 1, 2001

 B.C. aquarium adds dolphin from Japan

 Mary Vallis
 National Post

 A dolphin dived in to the Vancouver Aquarium's waters yesterday
 after a nine-hour plane ride from Japan.

 Spinnaker, a 14-year-old male Pacific white-sided dolphin, is a new
 playmate for Whitewings, a 34-year-old female who has been
 swimming alone since Bjossa the killer whale was moved to San
 Diego's SeaWorld in April.

 "Whitewings looked at Spin and took off like a rocket," said John
 Nightingale, the aquarium's president. The dolphins spent the
 afternoon eyeing each other cautiously, but were racing around
 their tank together by the end of the day.

 Mr. Nightingale would not say how much the aquarium paid for
 Whitewings' companion but he said staff visits to Japan, the
 dolphin's transport from Osaka to Vancouver, and the actual
 purchase totalled about $300,000.

 The dolphin arrived in Vancouver from the Ring of Fire Aquarium in Osaka,
 where it lived for a
 decade after being rescued from a fishing net, Mr. Nightingale said.

 The Vancouver Parks Board passed a resolution five years ago preventing the
 aquarium from
 housing dolphins caught in the wild after 1996, which complicated the task
 of finding
 Whitewings a companion. Even so, the aquarium intends to purchase three or
 four more
 dolphins for a new exhibit.

 Roslyn Cassells, a Green party member of the city's parks board, said
 residents of Vancouver
 have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the aquarium's plans to put more
 dolphins on
 display.

 "We learn more from seeing animals in their natural habitat than we do by
 forcing them into a
 bathtub and staring at them."

 She said the dolphin's arrival is an unwelcome surprise: The parks board
 and reporters were
 not officially notified of the aquarium's purchase until yesterday,
 although the aquarium has
 been in negotiations since Bjossa left Vancouver.

 The aquarium president said revealing the news sooner might have
 compromised the deal or
 allowed protesters to disrupt the dolphin's arrival.

 ********************************

 **Roslyn Cassells is the first elected animal rights activist in Vancouver
 herstory, sitting on Vancouver Park Board for a 3 year term.  A long time
 social justice advocate on many issues, Cassells campaigns for legislation
 at all levels of government which will improve the rights of animals in our
 society.  She is the founder of the first animal affairs radio show in
 North America, and has worked in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation for
 over 25 years and the no-kill shelter movement for over 15 years.  Please
 forward any information on animal issues, especially legislative and legal
 initiatives you are trying to build solidarity for, and informative animal
 websites.