Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 1 Coalition For No Whales in Captivity Complaint to the Vancouver Park Board of a violation of the Parks Control Bylaw regarding Cetaceans Presentation to the Planning Committee of the Vancouver Park Board by Denis Howarth on behalf of the Coalition For No Whales in Captivity June 6, 2006

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 2 Parks Control Bylaw section 9(e) In 1996 the Vancouver Park Board, responding to the ethical principles of the community, enacted a bylaw intended to phase out the further introduction and imprisonment of cetacean mammals in Vancouver parks. The Vancouver Aquarium is now in breach of that bylaw, and it is the duty of the Park Board to prosecute.

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 3 Parks Control Bylaw section 9(e) 9. (e) No person shall bring into any park or keep or otherwise maintain in any park any aquatic mammal of the Cetacean order including, but not limited to, baleen whales, narwhals, dolphins, porpoises, killer whales and beluga whales, which has been captured or otherwise taken from its natural wild habitat, except that this prohibition shall not apply to: (i) captive cetaceans caught from the wild prior to September 16, 1996 and cetaceans born into captivity at any time, (ii) cetaceans which are already being kept or maintained in a park as of September 16, 1996, (iii) a member of an endangered cetacean species, provided that approval for bringing it into a park has first been obtained from the Park Board, and (iv) an animal that has been captured or otherwise taken from its natural wild habitat for the purpose of rehabilitating it from injury or preventing its death due to stranding provided that its capture or taking and subsequent release to natural habitat is done under the jurisdiction and with the approval of the federal agency responsible and provided that the Park Board has been informed in as timely a manner as possible.

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 4 Parks Control Bylaw section 9(e) Summer 1996 – public meetings held July 31, 1996 – resolution to draft a bylaw September 30, 1996 – resolution to permit exceptions when approved by the Park Board October 1996 – exceptions are drafted by the Vancouver Aquarium itself without providing for such approval by the Park Board November 4, 1996 – bylaw section 9(e) is enacted in the form drafted by the Aquarium

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 5 Proposal to amend the bylaw July 21, 2003 – report Vancouvers Dolphin Bylaw, presented by Coalition For No Whales in Captivity, proposes amendment of the bylaw Park Board Chair asks the Vancouver City legal department to present an opinion in fall 2003 No legal opinion is presented publicly and no response is made to the Coalition proposal February 4, 2004 – Coalition writes a reminder letter requesting such a legal opinion Park Board makes no response to that letter

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 6 Vancouver Aquarium imports dolphins Aquarium consistently says that it aims to display 6 to 7 captive dolphins Summer 2001 – Spinnaker is imported from Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium Summer 2005 – Laverne is imported from San Antonio SeaWorld Aquarium October 12-14, 2005 – Aquarium tells the Park Board about new imports, and the Park Board warns the Aquarium the import would be illegal October 16, 2005 – Helen and Hana are imported from Enoshima Aquarium

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 7 Aquarium asserts these facts These facts are based entirely on public statements by the Aquariums Director: Helen (female, ~17 years old) – captured before October 1996, flippers injured in the fishing net and amputated at Enoshima Hana (female, ~11 years old) – captured in 2003, in the same kind of fishing net, and not released because of an emaciated condition Aquarium chose to ignore the Park Board warning that this dolphin was not permitted

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 8 Section 9(e) exceptions (i) captive cetaceans caught from the wild prior to September 16, 1996 (iv) an animal that has been captured or otherwise taken from its natural wild habitat for the purpose of rehabilitating it from injury or preventing its death due to stranding provided that its capture or taking and subsequent release to natural habitat is done under the jurisdiction and with the approval of the federal agency responsible and provided that the Park Board has been informed in as timely a manner as possible [federal agency means Government of Canada]

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 9 The admitted facts establish guilt Section 9(e) exceptions HelenHana (i) caught from the wild prior to September 16, 1996 Probably No (implied date is Sept 16-30, 1996) No (date is 2003) (iv) rehabilitating it from injury … with the approval of the federal agency No (captured for Japan) No (captured for Japan)

Coalition For No Whales in Captivity 10 Duty of the Park Board Governments must enforce the law Governments cannot dispense with applying the law (Bill of Rights, 1689) but must apply it equally to all persons The Park Board made an official factual finding on October 14, 2005 that the dolphin Hana is not permitted in a park under the bylaw The Park Board now has no alternative except to prosecute, since official inaction on a known breach of law would be an abuse of discretion If the Park Board does not act, citizens can