Canada

Whale and dolphin captivity banned by law in Canada

By Staff The Canadian Press

Posted June 10, 2019 1:21 pm

Updated June 11, 2019 2:32 am

1 min read

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File photo. The Vancouver Park Board is trying to overturn the Vancouver Park Board's decision to ban cetaceans in captivity, and two animal rights groups have filed for intervenor status to try to stop it. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

The federal government has passed legislation that bans whale and dolphin captivity in Canada.

The bill will phase out the practice of keeping captive whales, dolphins and porpoises, but grandfathers in those that are already being held at two facilities in the country.

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Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., and the Vancouver Aquarium in B.C. are the only two places that currently keep captive cetaceans.

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The bill bans the capture of wild cetaceans, captive breeding and the import and export of those animals, with limited exceptions.

It allows for the rehabilitation and rescues of cetaceans.

The bill was first introduced in the Senate in 2015 and eventually made its way into the House of Commons, where it had its third and final reading today.