Vancouver Aquarium pushes back on cetacean ban

The Vancouver Aquarium is making a last ditch effort to thwart a park board bylaw amendment which would ban the importation and display of cetaceans, like dolphins and belugas.

Aquarium officials hope a campaign to drum up public support will sway park board commissioners, who in March, voted unanimously in favour of making a change to the bylaws.

Randy Pratt, incoming board chair at the aquarium, argued on Thursday the ban would put the Marine Mammal Rescue program at risk a program responsible for helping more than 100 animalsin distress in B.C. each year, though the vast majority aren't cetaceans.

• Vancouver Park Board votes to end display of cetaceans at aquarium
• Vancouver Aquarium 'deeply disappointed' with park board vote to ban cetaceans

"The proposed bylaw has generatedconcern among our staff, membersand the public about the fate of the Marine Mammal Rescue programand cetaceans currently in our care," said Pratt. "We are asking the public to make their voices heard on the issue."

The aquarium is encouraging people to use the letter-sending form on its website to senda note to the park board. The default note in the form includes the following:

"Without access to the resources and expertise of the aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Program, rescued animals face dire consequences. For the sake of these animals, our parksand our community, I hope the park board reconsiders its position."

Dr. Martin Haulena, the aquarium's head veterinariansaid, without the rescue program, cetaceans found to be in distress in the wild will have to be put down.

"It's going to be me that has to go andeuthanize these animals. It's not the park board. It's not the politicians.It's not the people that are yelling out in front of the aquarium that are going to have to go andeuthanize the animals," said Haulena.

"It's going to be meor it's going to be some poor conservation officer with a firearm," he said.

Haulena said he's losing sleep, as the stress of the approaching bylaw mounts.

"I've devoted my entire life to saving animals," he said

"You're just mulling over the potential outcomes all the time. You're going, what's going to happen with this animalor that animal,'" said Haulena, who added the idea the rescue program could be run at a facility beyond park board control wasn't realistic.

"There aren't many new aquariums that are built these days. You're looking at hundreds of millions of dollars to start," he said.

"We're a private non-profit that doesn't rely on any outside funding for running costs, so programs like Marine Mammal Rescue are funded entirely by people that come and visit."

Park board commissioners are set to vote on the bylaw amendment on May 15. The exact language will be released to the public a week before then.

"The amendments, which are being finalized, are thoughtful and reflective of public opinion. They take into consideration that rescued cetaceans Chester, Helen and Daisyare currently receiving care in Stanley Park," said park board chair Michael Wiebe.

"The board will continue to work with aquarium staff to support a thriving rescue program," said the park board in a released statement.

Asked whether he thought there was actually a chance the last-minute public campaign could change the minds of the park board commissioners, Haulena was unsure.

"I don't know," he said. "I just don't know. I'm just a dumb veterinarian at the end of the day."

Follow RaffertyBaker on Twitter: @raffertybaker