4 - Sunday, February 24, 1991 - North Shore News Aquarium captivity was the real cause of Hyak’s death THE DEATH of Hyak the whale in the Vancouver Aquarium should serve as a reminder that the aquarium is involved in a brutal business that it tries to present as fun and games, namely the capture, imprisonment and slow death of whales. The animals live an utterly miserable existence from the time they are yanked from their fami- lies in the wild and locked in tiny tubs full of chemicals, including chlorine. The only reason they perform all those tricks that audiences love to squeal at is because they know they will be starved otherwise. 1, for one, cannot stand going to an aquarium. Apart from the insult to my intelligence, which the live performances by whales and dolphins constitute, there is a deeper insult to the cetaceans themselves. Aquariums capture whales and dolphins for one reason only, and it certainly has nothing to do with science or increasing public awareness about the need to pro- tect animals. These creatures are great box office. They keep profits up. Any pretence on the part of aquarium officials that they are involved in anything other than making bucks out of the suffering of splendid, intelligent animals is a deception that surely no one really buys any longer. I found out about Hyak’s death from a reporter for BCTV, who called me up because his station had run an interview with me three years ago, in which I predicted that Hyak would be dead within two or three years’ time. How had I known what was going to happen, the reporter wanted to know. The simple answer is that Hyak’s dorsal fin was bent over, a clear symptom of stress and ill- health. In nature, an orca’s dorsal sticks straight up. In nature, it should be added, a male orca can live up to 70 years, with females living up to 80 years. The average lifespan of an orca in captivity is a mere 13 years. Hav- ing survived since his capture in 1968, Hyak was a relative old- timer, enduring nearly 25 years in captivity. Aquarium spokespeople shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind that relative longevity, however. It remains that Hyak lived far less than half as long as he would have in the wild. And, besides, who calls that liv- ing — cooped up in a chemical stew, going around in circles, forced to perform stupid tricks in exchange for food, kept alive by the regular administration of an- tibiotics to counteract the effects of the polluted water pumped in from Burrard Inlet, and dosed with antihyperacidic drugs to combat the painful ulcers resulting from the psychological nightmare of confinement. Peter Hamilton of Lifeforce has drawn my attention to the fact that his organization complained back on Feb. 4 that both Hyak LET'S DO. PATS RESTAGHANT c+ Be . 445 t4th Ss for Mateneter Bob Hunter STRICTLY PERSONAL and Allua, one of the captive belugas at the aquarium, were sick. Hamilton had noticed that, in addition to his bent-over dorsal, Hyak was showing signs of lethargy, he wasn’t eating proper- ly, and his eyes were closed most of the time. Aquarium spokesman Roy Tanami immediately denied Hamilton’s charge, claiming that there was absolutely nothing wrong with either whale. While admitting that Hyak was lethargic, Tanami said that a veterinarian had given him a clean bill of health. Tanami’s comments were published Feb. 10. Just seven days later, Hyak died. What does this tell us about the aquarium’s judgment? What does it suggest about its credibility? If laymen like me could see Hyak’s demise coming, and an animal welfare observer could detect illness when aquarium spokesmen and veterinarians alike could see nothing wrong, then it is high time the aquarium hired some competent staff. But, of course, competence isn’t really the issue. Public statements on behalf of the aquarium are colored by the institution's desire to maintain the illusion that all is well, even when it patently isn’t. As for the surviving whales, let it be noted that the dorsal fin of Finna is also bent over, just like Hyak’s was. This is a sign of stress and general ill health. It has also been reported that Bjossa is pregnant, which proba- bly means that she will abort or have a still-birth. At the very least, in her condi- tion, the aquarium’s staff should have the sense to stop forcing her to perform those dumb tricks. The likelihood of something going wrong with the delivery is twice as high in captivity as it is in the wild. Keep in mind that Bjossa’s first calf, which was born in December 1988, died of starvation after just *” days. Peter Hamilton also notes that Allua, the female beluga captured in 1985, has a skin discoloration, indicating a health problem prob- ably caused by bacterial infection. The proper word for the treat- ment all these animals receive is abuse. They are chronically ill, acoustically deprived, trapped in a situation where they can’t escape from each other even as they are being driven to ulcers by the stress of tight confinement. At the very least, the federal and provincial governments should step in to order a moratorium on the capture of any more whales until there is an in- vestigation into the premature death of Hyak and the suffering endured by the surviving animals. CANADIAN CLOSET Bi Free home estimates . 986-4263 1385 Crown St., N.Van. spirit of giving Tune your Mazda! SPRINGTIME FREE 20 POINT TUNE-UP pus SAFETY INSPECTION . i H 1 Battery cables 12. Exhaust system Replace engine oil & Roomectons 13. Steering lekage filtersTop up all fiuid 2 Coolant strength 14, rveshalt& leveis. 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