Vancouver Aquarium getting ready for big fish
According to its latest community consulation, nearly 90 per cent of Vancouverites support a bigger Vancouver Aquarium. Considering that we have governments elected with 34 per cent of the popular vote, that sounds like a ringing endorsement.
Animal rights activists will no doubt be up in arms at the prospect of seeing another dolphin or whale in there. They’re free to do so, but what better promotional device could there be for making humans more empathetic to animals than putting them front and centre in our parks? How many people would even care about animals (other than cats and dogs) if they’d never seen the things outside of a movie theatre?
Ignore the animal liberation front.
Yes, let’s make humans more empathetic to the animals by locking them in cages so little children can go and clap their hands when they do stupid tricks.
And yes, let’s take huge whales used to the boundless space of the ocean, put them in a tiny tank, and “study” them.
Let me ask you this: Would you consent to be locked up in a small room for the purpose of study by some other species?
Ignore this clown. Specious arguments are a waste of time.
This is really stupid, Jonathan, and Steev is right.
Someone else pointed out in a local paper that no dinosaurs were ever put into a zoo but look how much kids love dinosaurs.
I am quite frankly really sick of your posts. You try to follow the rightwing party line so much that you don’t even bother to think through your arguments. You’re giving Vancouver a bad name.
Damn, I SO agree with Maktaaq. Right on! Keep your bias on your personal blog.
This is what we call “junk polling”.
You will notice if you read past the first paragraph that while 89% are in favour of the Aquarium **being allowed to expand**, only 61% believe the Aquarium should be allowed to use any more of Stanley Park, only 55% believe the Aquarium should be allowed to use any new greenspace at all, and only 63% believe that three dozen trees are a fair trade for more aquarium.
Note also that no mention is made of who’s going to pay for the expansion, so that 89% mandate the Aquarium is claiming only refers to people who don’t object to the Aquarium expanding “somehow”.
Oh, dear. I was showing… bias? On a blog? From the wrong perspective?
Thanks, guys. In future, I’ll be more aware that Vancouverites are only allowed to have one particular view.
This ain’t the Vancouver branch of the NDP’s home page, in case you didn’t notice.
By the way, what is right-wing about supporting an expansion at the aquarium? It wasn’t like I was advocating tax cuts for amphibians and a reduction in social services for sea otters. Let’s try a little less labeling and a little more reasoned commentary, people.
I know, maybe if we put Jonathan in a tiny cage and put him front and centre in our parks then all the readers might be more “empathetic” to his opinion.
Ooh how or how about the old bear exhibit where the Stanley Park Zoo used to be? :p
Can’t we all just get along?
Steev: Why the scare quotes on ’study’? The Vancouver Aquarium is a non-profit bona fide educational and research organization. Are you implying that there is no research going on at the aquarium, or that the knowledge gained is useless? Something else?
People of goodwill disagree with each other on this specific issue, but I think it’s fair to say that in our society, people widely accept the captivity of mammals for a variety of purposes. The captivity of a few cetaceans may be upsetting to some, but the issue is vanishingly small compared to the number and conditions under which our food animals live, and the number of animals of all kinds bred as pets. The bottom line is that we routinely do much, much worse things to animals than keep whales in aquariums. If you want to pick on someone causing animals misery then you’d be better off writing your MP in support of Mark Holland’s Animal Cruelty bill (C-373).
-people disagree
– subjecting to discomfort
– do their shopping
– medical care
-whaling
“People of goodwill disagree with each other on this specific issue, but I think it’s fair to say that in our society, people widely accept the captivity of mammals for a variety of purposes.”
People have widely accepted any number of immoral or illogical practices in the past. It is the truly revolutionary thinkers who are able to try and break certain paradigms and question the status quo.
So the scare quotes on “study” were there because, as Jonathon said, putting whales in captivity is supposed to evoke some sort of empathy in the humans watching. This empathy should translate to a greater respect for the animals, and I have no doubt that it does. However, we can gain as much insight into the behavioral attitudes of whales in captivity as we can putting Jonathon in a box and seeing how he behaves.
Artificiality begets artificiality.
I took issue with this post precisely because Jonathon said “Ignore the animal liberation front.” as if we should take this as some sort of edict to follow, while he provides no evidence as to why we should do so.
So what if 99% of Vancouverites think we should put animals in the aquarium. Does that make it right? Does democracy always equal morality?
Jonathon seems to think so
“Does democracy equal morality?”
Not always, obviously. But it can give some indication of what the public will tolerate as a means to a greater good.
As surprising as this may seem, I do feel some guilt at seeing animals in zoos and aquariums. Obviously, no amount of enclosed space would ever come near the space of their natural habitats (notwithstanding the ongoing destruction of our wilderness and pollution of our oceans).
But I stand by my comments: zoos and aquariums help humans relate to animals, possibly leading to increased concern for our environment, more humane agricultural practices and laws against animal cruelty. They may even help humans relate to eachother. These are good things, worth keeping.
The benefits gained from keeping a select amount of animals in captivity vastly outweighs any negatives. Through research and education, the Aquarium is helping to preserve the natural habitat of these animals. If you ever see a show at the Aquarium, you can see how much they stress conservation. I think that the people who speak out against the Aquarium are unaware of how much work they do in this regard, and I can’t think of any other organization based out of Vancouver that has done quite as much as they have for marine mammals.
No, democracy doesn’t equal morality. But I would say that democracy approaches proper morality at a faster rate than any other system of government I can think of.