Bill S-203, Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, has finally become the law in Canada.
The Bill will “prohibit the taking of a cetacean [whales and dolphins] into captivity and … prohibit the import of a cetacean into Canada and the export of a cetacean from Canada.” Unfortunately, the animals currently at MarineLand will continue to languish in their small tanks.
Keeping whales and dolphins in captivity is one of the cruelest things that people can inflict on these intelligent, ocean-ranging, social animals. Apart from rescuing and rehabilitating whales and dolphins, there is no ethically defensible reason for capturing and imprisoning them in zoos and marine parks.
For information about cetaceans in captivity, read Zoocheck and Vancouver Humane Society’s joint report “A Crumbling Case for Cetacean Captivity“
A bit of history:
October 24, 2018: CBC – Senate passes bill that would ban whale, dolphin captivity in Canada
May 2019: Bill S-203 passed Committee without amendments and went to final reading in the House of Commons.
June 2019: Bill S-203 received Royal Assent.