CULTURE | Death of Vancouver Aquarium’s Tuvaq dredges up deep questions about whales in captivity.

The death of baby beluga Tuvaq at the Vancouver Aquarium this past weekend churned up a wave of controversy over the question of keeping whales in captivity, and the many ways we humans insist on observing marine mammals in general.

Aquariums are established (though still controversial) ventures, but the whale watching industry is booming as well. Some wonder if heading out on a boat to see whales in the so-called wild is any less damaging than keeping them captivity.

Annelise Sorg, 46, Founder of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity, says there’s no comparison.

“The whale watching industry has guidelines imposed on it by the government,” she says.

“And for the most part, those guidelines are respected.” She says the problem with whale watching lies with private boaters who go too close and feed the animals in the wild, and contends that those boaters learn their bad behaviours from organizations like the Vancouver Aquarium.

“Since they [the Vancouver Aquarium] started their Animal Encounters program – where you can actually touch the animals – people have started to lose their fear and respect for those animals,” she says. “The Aquarium teaches the public that whales and other marine animals are like domesticated pets.”

Photo by guille pozzi on Unsplash

Clint Wright, VP of Operations and Animals Management at the Vancouver Aquarium, disagrees.

He says that while the Encounters program does allow the public to get up close to whales, it unequivocally does not teach them to disrespect the animals in the wild.

“We only recommend approved whale watching trips, “ says Wright, “and we always educate people about staying an appropriate distance away, about not feeding wild animals, etc.”

Wright says organizations like the Vancouver Aquarium can’t be held responsible for the behaviour of independent individuals.

“People do what people do. They’re behaviours are not learned from Aquariums. I do think it is fair to say that Aquariums have changed people’s attitudes toward whales and dolphins, but that change has been positive.”

And, he adds, it’s worth remembering that when observed in the wild, “animals can swim off and do whatever they want if they don’t want to participate.”

Sorg’s organization certainly has a bit of an axe to grind and an agenda of its own, but when I spoke to her by phone, she had her own points to make about the Vancouver Aquarium’s agenda, and animals in captivity in general.

“The most popular aquarium in the US is in Washington DC, but they only have fish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has a natural bay … where visitors can see animals go by from a balcony. They have real education displays. No whales in captivity … big rooms and fibreglass models of whales so people can see the size of the animals.”

By contrast, she says, “Sea World is more like Disney Land. They have kitschy displays. There’s cruelty involved. They have orcas, dolphins, and marine animals in general. They’ve made the biggest dent in the commercialization of these animals … shows are loud, with rock and roll music, big screens, tanned and gorgeous trainers in tight wet suits jumping around.”

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

In her opinion, the Vancouver Aquarium aspires to the Sea World model.

“We have no doubt that the Vancouver Aquarium would be just like Sea World if it wasn’t the fact that they are public, located in a public park, funded on public funds.”

She says the Vancouver Aquarium is “for entertainment”.

When I ask why she discounts the educational offerings the Aquarium seems to be making, she doesn’t demur.

“The education component is there,” Sorg admits, “but not in the live whale exhibits. What people are seeing is live whales and dolphins doing stupid tricks. The shows are about jumping and splashing the crowd – that’s a big crowd pleaser. They’re being trained to be show and performance animals. If those whales were in captivity to do something good … we would have a harder time opposing it. But throughout the years, it’s been made quite clear that the reason the Vancouver Aquarium keeps whales in captivity is to keep whales in captivity – to replenish captive exhibits. There has been no effort to replenish the stock of whales in the wild. They have no intent but to decimate the ocean of wildlife.”

It’s a harsh position, and one aquarium spokespeople clearly feel is incorrect and unfair.

At the same time, there’s still no word on what killed baby beluga whale Tuvaq at the Vancouver Aquarium on July 17^th.

Tuvaq was nearly three years old when he died on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. A necropsy (like an autopsy) was performed on that same day, but the results were not conclusive.

Wright said that a barrage of additional tests will have to be conducted, and that the results of those tests may take several weeks to arrive.

Five whale calves have died at the Vancouver Aquarium in the last 30 years.

Sorg says she wasn’t surprised by Tuvaq’s death, though she is appalled that it happened. She reports that her organization hears about the deaths of animals in captivity on a regular basis and that belugas typically live between 40 and 50 years in the wild.

The Aquarium says there is no indication that captivity played a role in Tuvaq’s death.

Obviously, these two sides are a long way away from ever meeting in the middle. As more animals die (in captivity and otherwise) the whales in captivity debate will surely continue to rage on.

Versions of this piece about whales in captivity published as separate articles in Dose in July 2005. Clips can be seen below. General culture and trend pieces are here.

Published in Dose, July 2005.

Published in Dose, July 2005.