Bill S-203, Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, has finally made its way through the Senate. It is now in the House of Commons for consideration.
UPDATE: May 2019 – Bill S-203 has passed Committee without amendments and is now in Third and final reading in the House of Commons. Please call your Member of Parliament today to support this important legislation for the animals.
October 24, 2018: CBC – Senate passes bill that would ban whale, dolphin captivity in Canada
The Bill would “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.” The Bill must pass First Reading, Second Reading, Committee, Third Reading and, finally, receive Royal Assent to become law. This must all happen before the government breaks for the summer in 2019. After summer break, government business will resume for a short time before being prorogued (terminated) in preparation for the next federal election in October 2019. Upon prorogation all unfinished business, including Bill S-203, dies.
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”
How You Can Help
1) Please contact your federal Member of Parliament and urge him/her to support Bill S-203. Hand-written letters and phone calls are best (letters can be mailed postage-free). If you don’t know who your MP is, visit Elections Canada or call us at 416-462-9541.
2) Donate to the movement. Without your support, we couldn’t do the work we do for the animals.