VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Park Board has unanimously decided to have staff look into amending the Parks Control bylaw to prohibit the importation and display of live whales, dolphins and porpoises.
The decision follows the Vancouver Aquarium’s announcement to bring in new belugas before phasing out its cetacean research program and the display of beluga whales by 2029.
On the table were four possible options, ranging from holding a plebiscite in the 2018 municipal election to keeping the situation as is.
The board will now instruct staff to investigate and report back on how best to implement the amendment by May 2017.
The deaths of belugas Aurora and daughter Qila in November of 2016 thrust the issue of cetaceans in captivity into the spotlight.
The Aquarium says it still doesn’t know what caused the whales to die just weeks apart but hasn’t ruled out a toxin in the water or “something malicious.”
