4 - Wednesday, April 22, 1992 ~ North Shore News Why the orca show must stop ONE THING I’ve got to say for Murray Newman and the Vancouver Aquarium, they sure under- stand delaying tactics. Bob Hunter STRICTLY PERSONAL They have been dragging their heels for decades when it came to any kind of compassionate think- ing about captive orcas, dolphins and belugas. Now that the tide of public opinion is running strongly against them — most people being distressed rather than thrilled by the spectacle of huge animals trapped in virtual bathtubs — Newman has cancelled the most odious aspects of the orca show, the demeaning tricks, and has promised not to capture any more of the creatures. But still he stubbornly resists the idea of taking the next step and letting his captives go. His aquarium is also still deeply involved in the captive ceteacean industry itself, which continues to throw away orca lives by the score in pursuit of the profit derived from exploitation of large dolphins. The captive orca breeding pro- gram, touted by the industry as being a reasonable alternative to additional captures, has been a consistent flop. I advise any of you who have followed this issue over the years to take the trouble to go toa book store and order a copy of an investigative report commissioned by the Whale and Dolphin Con- servation Society, titled The Per- forming Orca — Why The Show Must Stop. It’s written by Eric Hoyt, famil- iar to many British Columbians thanks to his 10 years of work with orcas in their natural habitat around Vancouver Island, work which was chronicled in Hoyt’s first book, Orca: The Whale Call- ed Killer, and various National Geographic and New York Times articles. In producing this report, Hoyt visited most of the 17 marine parks around the world that keep orcas. He talked with trainers, park owners, curators and even the minister of environment in Iceland, where most live captures now occur — other jurisdictions, like B.C., having banned the practice. The numbers Hoyt has come up with speak for themselves: @ Of the 27 known orca pregnancies in captivity around the world, just nine have resulted in successful births. @ In the wild, orca average life expectancy is 50.2 years fur fe- males, 29.2 years for males. Only the male has survived this long in captivity, the rest all having died much sooner. @ Of the 127 wild orcas caught and taken into captivity since 1961, just 25 are suill alive today. Hoyt acknowledges that captive breeding is an important part of conservation for some species, and there have been spectacular suc- cesses. There are some 800 species of mammals now being bred in zoos around the world. Of these, 154 are endangered species. This work is obviously worth - while and necessary. But just keeping an animal in captivity ‘is hardly conservation. A true measure of success is returning the animal to the wild."* Sixteen species of marine maminals have been bred in cap- tivity, including sea otters, manatecs, sea lions, seals and dolphins. In some cases, such as threat- ened and endangered river dolphins and porpoises, there is an argument lo be made for cap- tive breeding. There is in fact a program known as the World Conservation Union's Species Survival Commis- sion, which all legitimate zoos and aquaria belong to, which recom- mends that captivity be used as a way of reducing the risk of extinc- tion once a species’ numbers have fallen to the thousands. But neither orcas nor bottlenose dolphins, which have received most of the veterinary expertise and financial backing, are reduced to levels that would justify such a move, The purpose of the captive breeding program is obviously to restock the tanks in order to con- tinue to have a ‘‘main attraction” that still lures hordes of visitors, frequently tourists who have never seen a ‘‘killer whale,’’ or children rounded up by their schools or churches, It has nothing to do with reduc- ing the risk of extinction, nothing to do with the conscious- ness-raising side of conservation, and very little to do with science, despite the claims that scientific programs in themselves justify captivity. The only marine park to open its annual report showed a figure for all science, in house and in the wild, involving all species — at 1% of the budget per year. Hoyt ventures bravely into the the loaded issue of trainers at marine parks. In the wake of the death of Keltie Byrne at Sealand of the Pacific in 1991 (drowned by three orcas after she fell into the water), there have been repeated warnings of the risks to the people whose job it is to work with the orcas. According to Hoyt, there is a tremendous turnover in trainers. Only about half the marine parks ask for previous experience, and barely more than half —- as 44 Of the 127 wild orcas caught and taken into captivity since 1961, just 25 are still alive today. 99 revealed by a survey in the Inter- national Marine Animal Trainers Association's newsletter — even require a high school diploma. Pay is low. The average trainer lasts three years on the job. So much for the vaunted ‘‘relation- ship’’ between trainer and orca. As far as the Vancouver Aquarium is concerned, it is worth noting Hoyt's point that nothing much has changed in the last two decades. Finally letting the orcas off the hook in terms of performing, and promising not to kidnap any more of them from the wilds doesn’t do much for the remaining captives, who are still doomed to a premature death from sensory deprivation. BUILD WITH CONFIDENCE New Homes & Renovations Consultation Design Estimates Protessional Builders TRACING PAPER washable $160 Reg. $3.00 Pkg. . LINE ROWERS re wl $ Rees: 20 $ 60 NORTHSHORE ALL MAKE LEASING Any make, any model, terms up to 5 years Featuring: 1992 Mazda 323 H/B 5 speed Payments from Per month + taxes for 48 months 0 Down, TP. $8,352 $174.00 CALL DE ™UG PHILLIPS 980-8501