Captive Whales to be Released to New Sanctuary in Canada
The 40-hectare bay will provide a “retirement home” for ageing beluga whales and orcas.
A group of captive beluga whales and orcas will be “retired” to a new sanctuary where they can finally engage in their natural behaviours.
The cetaceans have spent their entire lives in captivity, kept in entertainment parks which use them as “performers”.
Now, an initiative by non-profit organization The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP), has selected a 40-hectare area within a sheltered bay in Nova Scotia to house the rescued cetaceans.
“Their quality of life can be a whole lot better than it is in the entertainment parks, but they don’t have the survival skills to just be dumped back in the ocean”, Dr Lori Marino, the groups founder, told The Guardian.
The planned sanctuary will see the sheltered bay enclosed by netting, allowing a constant flow of water in a habitat that will house natural marine life. The protected space will also allow WSP staff to care for the retired marine animals.
Last year, Canada passed the “Free Willy bill”, which prohibits the trade, possession, capture and breeding of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The bill effectively ended the practice of using these cetaceans for entertainment. Groups like WSP are now working on ways to retire those who have spent their lives in captivity.
“[The sanctuary] is much closer to their natural habitat than the way they’re living now.” Marino said.
Depending on ongoing approval from the Canadian government, around eight beluga whales could be retired to WSP’s new sanctuary.
Merino is hopeful more captive cetaceans can have their “retirement” in natural habitats.
“I worked with captive dolphins and beluga whales when I was a student,” he says. “It wasn’t until I actually saw them in the wild that I realised who they were. They don’t belong in concrete tanks. They need to have the ocean and all its variety and challenges to really thrive.”
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