No-whale era at aquarium

Photo: The Canadian Press

The Vancouver Aquarium has announced that it will no longer display whales or dolphins.

Aquarium president John Nightingale says in a statement that the facility will focus instead on raising awareness of ocean issues impacting other marine animals.

He says an exception will be made for the aquarium's single remaining cetacean, a Pacific white-sided dolphin named Helen.

The decision follows the Vancouver Park Board's approval of a bylaw last May that banned the aquarium from bringing any new cetaceans to its facility in Stanley Park.

It also comes after the deaths of a number of cetaceans at the aquarium since 2016, including a young false killer whale, a harbour porpoise and two beluga whales.

The aquarium says in a release that it will continue to rescue and rehabilitate animals in need, including whales and dolphins, at its rescue centre.