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C. Welwood: “The real reason your kids won’t get to see dolphins at the aquarium…”

By May 27, 2017November 23rd, 2018No Comments
Regarding the cetacean ban: the Vancouver Park Board commissioners need to “check their privilege” as the young folk like to say. Rather than taking an evidence-based approach to whales and dolphins in captivity and looking at how the Vancouver Aquarium actually operates (they voluntarily end capturing wild cetaceans over 20 years ago), all the commissioners except for one decided instead just to virtue-signal. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Erin Shum, the one commissioner who voted against the ban, is the only independent on the board. Also interesting to note that she works as a special education assistant for kids with autism–a tough job with mediocre pay normally taken only by tough individuals with a lot of compassion.
So, Erin Shum has my respect, but the rest of the commissioners with their masters degrees and elitist attitudes can go jump in lake. I’m going to guess they’re wealthy enough that when there are no more whales and dolphins at Vancouver Aquarium, they’ll still have enough money to send their kids and grandkids on whale watching tours in Georgia Strait, or to aquariums in other cities, so that they can still have that experience. But what about all the kids of working families in the lower mainland who will miss out on that opportunity because of the ban? I guess their preferences are secondary to the moral agenda of the wise commissioners.