Vancouver park board lacked authority to ban whales, dolphins at aquarium: court
Vancouver’s park board did not have the authority to ban whales, dolphins and porpoises at the city’s aquarium, a British Columbia judge has ruled.
The B.C. Supreme Court decision released Friday follows the Vancouver Aquarium’s announcement last month that it will end the practice of displaying cetaceans in captivity.
The Ocean Wise Conservation Association, a non-profit society that runs the aquarium, filed an application for judicial review last year challenging a bylaw amendment passed by the park board prohibiting the keeping of cetaceans in parks.
The aquarium has a licensing agreement with the park board that allows it to operate in Stanley Park, and it was renewed in 1999 to include “non-interference” provisions.