Draft:Cetacean sanctuary

Cetacean sanctuaries are similar to other types of animal sanctuaries. An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. The resident animals are given the opportunity to behave as naturally as possible in a protective environment.

The need for cetacean sanctuaries is quickly emerging due to shifting regulations and changes in public attitudes toward cetaceans in captivity. With an estimated 3,600 cetaceans in captivity globally , the need for spacious natural ocean environments that provide feeding and care is increasing, as marine parks and aquariums around the world move away from keeping whales and dolphins in their facilities. A primary criticism of commercial facilities is that animals are expected to perform unnatural behaviors for audiences in spaces that are small and can’t adequately approximate a natural setting.

Cetacean sanctuaries are designed for autonomy and well-being, enabling as natural a life as possible in ocean water. Lifetime of care is provided for these whales, dolphins, or porpoises. Like other wild animals who have spent much or all of their lives in zoos, cetaceans who have lived in marine parks for most or all of their lives are potentially poor candidates for reintroduction to the open ocean and, therefore, sanctuaries are an alternative to living on display or in entertainment facilities.

Research

Research on marine mammals, and cetaceans in particular, is a quickly developing field of study. As stated in the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, “The history of marine mammal research is relatively new as far as modern standardized and repeatable scientific efforts are considered, and has enjoyed a greater sophistication and general scientific and public acceptance, especially in the past 30 years.”

In particular, a growing body of work on cetacean cognition and the impact of captivity on cetaceans has grown, and with it, controversy regarding the ethics of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.

In "Towards a New Paradigm of Non-Captive Research on Cetacean Cognition," researchers state, “Confinement impacts social relationships, degrades autonomy through the imposition of an enforced schedule of activity and behavior, causes boredom produced by a relatively sterile and unchanging environment, induces frustration, and inhibits incentives and abilities to carry out natural behaviors such as hunting and traveling.”

A research paper in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior states, “Despite decades of advances in veterinary care and husbandry, cetaceans in captive facilities (e.g., marine theme parks, aquariums, zoos) consistently display behavioral and physiological signs of stress and frequently succumb to premature death by infection or other health conditions. The breadth of available scientific data demonstrates that, by every appropriate metric, captive orcas do not fare as well as their free-ranging counterparts.”

Policy

With a growing body of research and a shift in people’s attitudes around keeping whales and dolphins in captivity , policies have been evolving.

This movement accelerated in recent years following the release of the documentary Blackfish in 2013.

While exhibition of cetaceans has been banned in some places for decades, in the wake of Blackfish, additional legislation has been introduced and in some cases passed that prohibits cetaceans in captivity and breeding of captive cetaceans.

In 2019, the Canadian Parliament passed legislation that bans cetaceans from being held in captivity.

In the United States, several states have similar legislation:

• California: The Orca Protection Act, AB 2305 (passed in 2017) bans holding orcas in captivity for performance or entertainment purposes in California, and ends captive breeding programs and the import/export of orcas and their genetic material into/out of the state. This law is the first of its kind in the United States. In the bill, “An orca located in the state on January 1, 2017, may continue to be held in captivity for its current purpose and after June 1, 2017, may continue to be used for educational presentations.”
• South Carolina:  “The display of dolphins and porpoises” was prohibited in 1992, and was later expanded in 2000 to include all marine mammals. In 2011, it was narrowed to ban only the display of cetaceans.
• Maui, Hawaii: In 2002, Maui County passed an ordinance that prohibits the exhibition of captive cetaceans

Globally, the following countries have banned or implemented policies that effectively ban cetaceans in captivity: Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary and Slovenia, Switzerland, India, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, Brazil, Luxembourg, Norway, Belgium, and the UK.  

Practices

Within a cetacean sanctuary, the animals and their individual needs are prioritized over all other interests. Sanctuaries allow for the animals to retain more choice and control in their habitats, while also benefiting from veterinary care and feeding. The animals who live in the sanctuaries will not breed but will not be prevented from socializing.

Natural stimuli, such as fish, plants, natural seawater, and climate conditions, are a key component of the environment, as is a much larger space than an aquarium or marine park can provide.

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries [GFAS] adopted a set of standards and best practices for cetacean sanctuaries, published in June 2023, reflecting the current understanding of cetaceans and the recent establishment of and planning for cetacean sanctuaries globally. These standards were developed in collaboration with Sea Life Trust, Merlin Entertainments, The Whale Sanctuary Project and the National Aquarium. GFAS states:

To be awarded GFAS accreditation, an organization must meet rigorous and peer-reviewed animal care standards that are confirmed by a site visit. They must also adhere to ethical and operational principles such as no breeding, no performances and freedom of choice for the animals. GFAS Accreditation provides a clear and trusted means for the public, donors and grantors to recognize awarded groups as exceptional organizations and true sanctuaries.

The standards include information on housing, nutrition, veterinary care, and well-being.

Human/animal interactions

The vast majority of animals that will come to an animal sanctuary will have been cared for by humans for most or all of their lives. At a sanctuary, every effort is made for the animals to exhibit natural behaviors, but they will do so in a supported environment with access to nutrition and veterinary care.

Education/the public

While sanctuaries may educate visitors, there is no visitor-animal interaction. There may be opportunities for observations that do not detract from the residents’ ability to exhibit natural behaviors.

Unique considerations of cetacean sanctuaries

Though cetacean sanctuaries are like other animal sanctuaries in many ways, there are several distinguishing characteristics. Often the candidates for a cetacean sanctuary have spent all or most of their lives in human care, in an aquarium or marine park setting. These environments are unlike the natural environmental conditions that dolphins and whales would experience in the wild.

Further, cetaceans in the wild typically navigate a large area; while sanctuaries are a profound expansion of the habitats found in aquariums and marine parks (in the case of the Whale Sanctuary Project, the intended space is 150 times larger than any marine park tank) , cetaceans require a uniquely large space to live as naturally as possible, while still inhabiting a protected environment.

History

While some date the history of cetaceans in captivity as far back as Aristotle, PT Barnum is cited with starting a movement in 1862 of capturing and displaying cetaceans.

Decades later, calls to ban the wild capture and display of cetaceans increased, paving the way for the regulatory shifts and the mobilization around sanctuaries we see today. Several landmark stories of captive cetaceans have captured the attention of the public, further contributing to sentiment shifts in recent years.

On May 23, 1996, two dolphins, Buck and Luther, were illegally released into the ocean by animal rights activists. They were ultimately recaptured by biologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Keiko, known as the whale featured in the 1993 film Free Willy, was captured as a young whale and displayed in several marine parks. Following the film, calls for his release led to his re-introduction to the wild. The process of reintroduction started in 1998; he swam on his own from Iceland to Norway in 2002. He was not successful in joining a wild pod of orcas and had human care until his death in Norway in December 2003.

Tillikum, the focus of the documentary Blackfish, was captured in Iceland in 1983. He lived in several marine parks including SeaWorld in Orlando, FL. He died there in January 2017. In his life, he was associated with three fatal attacks, which was the subject of Blackfish, which claims that orcas in captivity suffer psychological damage and become unnaturally aggressive.

Lolita, also known as Tokitae, was slated to be moved to a netted sanctuary enclosure in the U.S. Pacific Northwest ocean waters after more than 50 years in captivity, but died at the Miami Seaquarium in August 2023.

Current and Planned Sanctuaries

There is one operational sanctuary in Iceland, and a range of planned sanctuaries with several in the construction phase.

Sea Life Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary in the Westman Islands, Iceland

The world’s first cetacean sanctuary houses two beluga whales, Little Grey and Little White. In June 2019, the two belugas traveled from an aquarium in China to an inlet in Iceland that will provide a natural subArctic environment for the belugas.

Merlin Entertainments, which owns the Sea Life aquarium chain and supported the creation of the Sea Life Trust, has a long-held principle that belugas and other cetaceans do not belong in captivity for entertainment. Therefore, it has been seeking a solution for the belugas since its acquisition of Changfeng Ocean World in 2012.

Whale sanctuary in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia

The Whale Sanctuary Project is creating a sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia. According to the Whale Sanctuary Project website, the sanctuary will occupy more than 100 acres of water space, which will be enclosed by large underwater nets.

The project is undergoing environmental review, including studies that are required by law before permits can be granted for the construction and transfer of the whales.

Dolphin sanctuary in Caribbean; Location TBD

In 2016, the National Aquarium in Baltimore announced that it would move its Atlantic bottlenose dolphins to a seaside dolphin sanctuary. Dolphins have been featured in an exhibit at the Aquarium since 1991. Since the announcement, a team of researchers, veterinarians and marine mammal staff have been evaluating the dolphins for readiness to move to a seaside sanctuary. The effort to find a location for the dolphins is ongoing, with a focus on Puerto Rico, and they are using Studio Gang Architects to conceptualize the vision for the sanctuary.

Dolphin sanctuary in Greece

Sanctuary Education Advisory Specialists (SEAS) is creating the Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary for previously captive dolphins on the island of Lipsi, south of Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea.

Similarities and differences to other wildlife sanctuaries

A wildlife sanctuary, also called a nature reserve, is a protected area for wild animals and their habitats. This differs from a cetacean sanctuary because cetacean sanctuaries are deliberately animal first, and while it is essential that the environment be conducive to the animals thriving, it is secondary to animal well-being.

Similarities and differences to protected areas

According to IUCN, “A protected area is a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.” This differs from a cetacean sanctuary because cetacean sanctuaries are deliberately animal first.

Accreditation

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries [GFAS]  adopted a set of standards and best practices for cetacean sanctuaries, published in June 2023, reflecting the current understanding of cetaceans and the recent establishment of and planning for cetacean sanctuaries globally. These standards were developed in collaboration with Sea Life Trust, Merlin Entertainments, The Whale Sanctuary Project and the National Aquarium. GFAS states, “To be awarded GFAS accreditation, an organization must meet rigorous and peer-reviewed animal care standards that are confirmed by a site visit. They must also adhere to ethical and operational principles such as no breeding, no performances and freedom of choice for the animals. GFAS Accreditation provides a clear and trusted means for the public, donors and grantors to recognize awarded groups as exceptional organizations and true sanctuaries.” The standards include information on housing, nutrition, veterinary care, and well-being.

See also

• Animal Sanctuary
• Cetacea
• Captivity
• Blackfish
• Nature Reserve
• Keiko
• Tilikum
• Lolita