Scientific research of whales
in tanks benefit everyone

> The ethics of VanAqua and cetacean captivity

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

Ree the Vancouver Aquarium
said goodbye to the last of its
beloved belugas, just weeks after losing
another. The cause of death remains
unknown, although a virus or toxin

is the likely culprit. From inspiring
Raffi’s “Baby Beluga” song to being a

sort of unofficial mascot, the Belugas
were a staple of the aquarium.

With the release of Blackfish and
other related facts coming to light,
many have questioned the ethics of
keeping cetaceans (whales and dolphins)
in captivity. These creatures are some
of the most intelligent animals in the
world, and live naturally in a vast ocean
environment. Keeping them in tanks is
akin to imprisoning a human ina small
room, while others tap on the glass and
watch them do tricks for pieces of fish.

I agree with the sentiment. Keeping
these intelligent beings in captivity
for human entertainment is wrong. At
the Vancouver Aquarium, however, the
truth is more complicated. VanAqua
is a world-class aquatic facility that
contributes a lot to marine biology
research and conservation. They do not

 

capture cetaceans from the wild; all of
their whale/dolphin residents are bred
in captivity or rescued from unsafe
circumstances, or are unfit to live in
the wild. In many cases, these animals
can be euthanized because there are no
facilities available to take care of them.
The breeding program remains
controversial, with many feeling
cetaceans spending their entire lives
in a tank is an unethical way to treat
such an intelligent creature. However,

Image via David Ohmer

studying the breeding habits can

lead to better knowledge about their
natural behaviour. It is hard to study
these animals in the wild, and access to
captive specimens can open up many
new discoveries. The animals are treated
well, and their lifespans in captivity are
the same or even longer than they would
be in the wild. Of course, tragic deaths
do happen, but this is not a normal
occurrence. I would bet money that the
deaths are not due to any fault in the

Youre not special for being
‘politically incorrect’

> The myth of ‘PC culture’

Rebecca Peterson
Humour Editor

 

4 h, I don’t see race, or gender,

or sexuality or anything, I’m
really not politically correct. | just
care if you're a good person.”

I can’t count on my hands alone
the number of times I’ve heard people
say this—liberals and conservatives
alike. It’s usually said with an amount
of pride, like the speaker has thrown
off the shackles that our hypersensitive
culture has put upon us all, and that
they are part of an elite few who say what
they mean, don't censor themselves,
and truly speak their minds.

This all falls apart when you
start asking certain questions,
the biggest being, “What exactly
do you think political correctness
means, and who's enforcing it?”

A hero of political incorrectness
might define political correctness as
constraints on what they’re allowed
to say, to which I ask, “What are
you not being allowed to say? And
who isn’t allowing you to say it?”

Donald “Tiny Hands McGee” Drumpf
has complained about the ideology of
political correctness being written into
media and politics, citing that political
correctness prevents a presentation of
fact. In his world, these facts include

his made-up stories about Muslims in
New Jersey celebrating the fall of the
Twin Towers on 9-11, the “facts” that
Mexicans are rapists, that black people
are killing white people in significant
numbers, and on and on with whatever
else comes to mind. Fact-checking these
claims is political correctness gone wild,
in his view, instead of calling bullshit
on an insanely xenophobic rhetoric.
That is the extreme of the anti-
political correctness movement, of
course. A less extreme, more commonly
held view is that people are just too
damn sensitive these days, and can’t

 
 

Still from A Clockwork Orange

seem to take a joke. “I’m not allowed
to say ‘Tisqué’ things anymore.”

Here’s the thing, though: You
are. Under the law, under our rights
to free speech, youre allowed to make
comments about how you don't like gays
flaunting their sexuality, how you think
immigrants are “stealing jobs” or “should
learn to speak English if they want to
live here” even when the person you're
complaining about isn’t talking to you. No
one is coming to your house and putting
you in handcuffs for joking about how
women are vapid and emotional, or that
mentally ill people just “overdramatic”

aquarium, but were unavoidable causes
(possibly even some sicko who wanted
to kill these cetaceans deliberately).
Many of those who oppose the
Vancouver Aquarium’s cetacean
keeping know little about the positive
scientific endeavours the programs
lead. It’s not a perfect arrangement,
but it’s what we have, and I believe
the positives outweigh the negatives.
Studying rescue animals in captivity
leads to new discoveries, not only about
marine biology, but oceanography
and climate studies as well. The
cetaceans are also a source of revenue
as an attraction: VanAqua is a non-
profit facility that uses funds for
environmental and scientific causes.
Capturing whales in the wild for
aquarium use is wrong, and we've
known that since Free Willy. Keeping
cetaceans in tanks isn’t pleasant, but
it’s sometimes the only course of action.
Many animal-rights activists think that
keeping any creature in captivity for
any reason is wrong. I don’t subscribe to
this philosophy, although I can respect
the mindset behind it. I condemn
organizations like Sea World that keep
orcas as profit-generators, but that is very
different from the Vancouver Aquarium
using rescue belugas for research.

or “hypersensitive.” You can complain
about hate speech laws as much as you
like, but it takes an awful lot for anyone
to see any kind of punitive justice over
a racist or sexist comment. You are,
under law, allowed to do these things.

By that same law, I’m allowed to
respond. I’m allowed to challenge you,
and I’m allowed to debate you. If you
can’t stand behind your comments,
that isn’t my problem. Saying you aren’t
“allowed” to do something because it
makes other people uncomfortable is a
child’s complaint. You can say whatever
the hell you want—and you can accept
the consequences of that, too.

There is no organized movement
championing the shadowy cause of
political correctness. No one proudly
proclaims themselves to be politically
correct, the way many seem to take pride
in being politically incorrect. There are
movements that push for the acceptance
of minority groups, for education, and for
respect. These groups want to be treated
like human beings, rather than the butt of
a joke or a scapegoat for societal problems.
That’s not “political correctness”—that’s
civil liberty. That’s human rights.

But sure, go ahead and write an op-ed
crying about mean scary liberals policing
your free speech, even as you actively
exercise it. I'll be waiting here witha
mug of coffee, a rebuttal, and a smile.