Vancouver Aquarium’s confusing messages on captivity continue
Despite a $100 million expansion programme that will add new additional swimming space, Vancouver Aquarium’s president, John Nightingale has failed to clarify whether or not the new space will be used to house more beluga whales. Speaking to news reporters Nightingale said that new facilities are “several years” away from completion and that there were no “firm plans” other than whales and dolphins continuing to be used to “play a vital role in engaging the public.”
His comments are in stark contrast to those made by Nightingale just a few weeks ago (February) when he told Canadian radio that the aquarium will “likely” acquire more large marine mammals. In August 2012, aquarium vice-president Clint Wright told the media that another beluga would be brought in for a new breeding programme.
The Vancouver Aquarium stopped keeping orcas in 2001. It still holds two Pacific white-sided dolphins, two beluga whales, and several porpoises.
