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Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

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Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#121

Post by dawnerd »

debacle wrote: post #44
blakesterz wrote: post #4

"Monday's vote notably impacts Marineland, the Niagara Falls amusement park and zoo that is considered the last Canadian park committed to keeping cetaceans in captivity." Wow, so they passed a national law that essentially targets just a single park? How often does that happen anywhere? (I know the back story but I never knew Marineland was the only place... not saying this is wrong or right, just surprised)

I went to Marineland ~10 years ago and it was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. Very poor wildlife management and obviously exploited orcas. I've heard it has gotten worse since then.

Same here, seemed like all they had were way too many orcas, and one really sad looking bear.

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#122

Post by the_af »

rafiki6 wrote: post #112
mbostleman wrote: post #55

I get all the problems for the animals and not suggesting that they should continue to endure those problems, but I hate to see the general public's access to nature further curtailed. The mainstream seems to love wild places and wild life as long as it's on Youtube yet they spend the entirety of their own lives in suburbs and retail landscapes with virtually no direct experience with nature. I wonder how many childr…

This is where technology like VR and AR can really take off. We shouldn't have to torture animals any longer to further our own species. We can create beautiful virtual worlds for games that are hyper realistic and fully interactive. We can push our selves to do the same and get rid of zoos. Why can't children go to museums and virtual field trips? Can you imagine something like Planet Earth but fully interactive in…

I really don't want to see VR and AR replacing real access to live animals. If zoos and parks aren't the answer, then VR/AR isn't either, or at least, I really don't want it to be; it'd feel something out of a scifi dystopia to me.

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#123

Post by magduf »

refurb wrote: post #32
mutt2016 wrote: post #28

China is going to be so pissed. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-dolphins... This is political. I'm sure of it.

It’s very political. The Trudeau gov’t is coming up for election soon and is polling quite poorly. The gov’t is saddled by a scandal involving interference with the Minister of Justice. Trudeau also mentioned a single use plastic ban yesterday.

Great, does this mean we can look forward to yet another right-wing government taking power in the western world?

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#124

Post by peeters »

blakesterz wrote: post #4

"Monday's vote notably impacts Marineland, the Niagara Falls amusement park and zoo that is considered the last Canadian park committed to keeping cetaceans in captivity." Wow, so they passed a national law that essentially targets just a single park? How often does that happen anywhere? (I know the back story but I never knew Marineland was the only place... not saying this is wrong or right, just surprised)

> Wow, so they passed a national law that essentially targets just a single park? How often does that happen anywhere? (I know the back story but I never knew Marineland was the only place... not saying this is wrong or right, just surprised)

What's the alternative where the law rules? If federal jurisdiction is where the law/regulation would belong, how else would you bring an end to that practice?

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#125

Post by peeters »

kcbanner wrote: post #48
blakesterz wrote: post #4

"Monday's vote notably impacts Marineland, the Niagara Falls amusement park and zoo that is considered the last Canadian park committed to keeping cetaceans in captivity." Wow, so they passed a national law that essentially targets just a single park? How often does that happen anywhere? (I know the back story but I never knew Marineland was the only place... not saying this is wrong or right, just surprised)

A few paragraphs in: "Whales and dolphins that are already in captivity will be grandfathered in by the bill, meaning parks can keep all the animals they currently own."

Importantly, it's the animals that are grandfathered in, not the parks. So it'll take a while but this will eventually bring an end to Marineland's captivity program.

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#126

Post by peeters »

chrisweekly wrote: post #30
blakesterz wrote: post #4

"Monday's vote notably impacts Marineland, the Niagara Falls amusement park and zoo that is considered the last Canadian park committed to keeping cetaceans in captivity." Wow, so they passed a national law that essentially targets just a single park? How often does that happen anywhere? (I know the back story but I never knew Marineland was the only place... not saying this is wrong or right, just surprised)

Weird; I wonder if the article was updated in the last hour since your comment -- because the lead sentence is: > " Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., says new law won't impact its operations. "

In the near term, because animals already in captivity were grandfathered in. But those animals won't live forever, so Marineland's days of whale captivity are numbered.

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#127

Post by refurb »

magduf wrote: post #123
refurb wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s very political. The Trudeau gov’t is coming up for election soon and is polling quite poorly. The gov’t is saddled by a scandal involving interference with the Minister of Justice. Trudeau also mentioned a single use plastic ban yesterday.

Great, does this mean we can look forward to yet another right-wing government taking power in the western world?

If that's what the voters want, then yes.

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#128

Post by rifung »

Gpetrium wrote: post #101

Zoos can serve as an opportunity for people from different demographics to be able to see a small sample of what the world has to offer. It can also help facilitate conservation efforts by allowing people to have direct & indirect interactions with the animals and professionals in the area, which they would not have otherwise. Some people have advised to "Close Zoos and encourage people to see the animal in nature" w…

> If society believes that some animals should not be in captivity at all due to moral/practical reasons, it is worth asking: What other technologically driven solutions can be made/used to help people of all demographics experience what it is like to be in front of X animal

Seems like the perfect use case for VR?

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#129

Post by uhhhhhhh »

Gpetrium wrote: post #101

Zoos can serve as an opportunity for people from different demographics to be able to see a small sample of what the world has to offer. It can also help facilitate conservation efforts by allowing people to have direct & indirect interactions with the animals and professionals in the area, which they would not have otherwise. Some people have advised to "Close Zoos and encourage people to see the animal in nature" w…

>What other technologically driven solutions can be made/used to help people of all demographics experience what it is like to be in front of X animal?

I would say education teaching people that the urge to be 'in front of X animal' is likely dangerous and destructive and something we shouldn't do.

The use of media tools to allow limited interactions to be shared with much wider audiences like we see with Our Planet and other nature documentaries are more than enough to provide information, exposure, and there is no doubt that movies and media has already inspired thousands of biologists and other scientists to get into their fields (I know biologists that refer to themselves as the free willy generation due to their love of biology and nature starting with those movies at a young age, for example)

Re: Canada to ban keeping whales, dolphins in captivity

#130

Post by User23 »

rbritton wrote: post #79
magduf wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zoos like the San Diego wildlife park (it's separate from the older San Diego Zoo, and outside the city a little) are good this way: they have lots of room for the animals to roam and it's more like their natural habitats. Also, with some animals, keeping them in zoos in the best place for them because they wouldn't survive in the wild. Many zoos have permanently injured birds, for instance, that can't fly any more,…

There’s an aviary that does exactly this in Salt Lake City with bald eagles, vultures, flamingos, owls, and others. It’s worth a visit if in the area. https://tracyaviary.org/

Most if not all captive raptors have some kind of illness. Interestingly, sometimes it's actually a mental illness. The most common example I know of is being imprinted on humans rather than their own species. These birds simply wouldn't survive in the wild. In fact, they won't even survive in captivity if kept in the same enclosure as another member of their own species.
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