A Submission from Avaaz, a global web movement dedicated to, as its mission statement declares, “bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.”
A Foreword from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – One sure way of putting an end to amusement parks like Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario of keeping whales and other marine mammals in captivity is to ban import and export of these mammals across international borders.
A Beluga whale in the wild – Can we deal with it or do we need them catured and kept it tanks in amusement parks for our fun?
That is the purpose of a petition, which you can find a link to later on this post, being circulated around the world now by the global web citizens group Avaaz, calling on Canada’s federal and Ontario governments to impose a moratorium on the import and export of marine mammals.
Two decades ago, Canada’s Department of Oceans and Fisheries banned the live capture of beluga whales in all or most Canadian waters, believing this practice threatened the survival of a species that by the 1980s, was listed as threatened or endangered in many waters within Canadian boundaries.
However, this Canadian department fell short of imposing a ban on the import of whales and other marine mammals captured from other countries, which means that any whale that falls beyond waters under Canada’s jurisdiction is free for capture.
That has left amusement parks like Marineland with a loophole to have captured belugas and other marine mammals imported to their parks from other regions of the world. They receive these captured mammals from countries like Russia that continue to be among the few developed nations in the world that have no restrictions on their capture for exploitation in off-shore amusement parks like Marineland.
So here is a short post below by Avaaz, in front of a link by this group, asking you to sign a petition to Canadian governments to ban the import of marine mammals for exploint as exhibits in amusement parks like Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Why signing this petition is Is important
Both the Ontario Provincial Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur and Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield are reviewing what steps their respective administrations can take to implement changes to how we relate to marine mammals.
It is crucial that we make our voices heard and that we demand an immediate moratorium on the import and export of marine mammals for the purpose of captivity. We will not settle for bigger tanks and regulation by itself is betrayal! This online petition will be matched with two separate hard copy petitions – one at the Provincial level and one at the Federal level.
The petition is really important and could use our help. Click here to find out more and sign: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/URGENT_Immediate_Wild_Capture_Moratorium_for_Marine_Mammals_Canada/?kPRRcab
To learn more about Avaaz and its world-wide social justice campaigns, click on http://www.avaaz.org .
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
This is a petition created by Marineland Animal Defense is poorly thought out and like their entire strategy, doomed to fail. Madeleine Meilleur is in no position to impose a ban on import/export and will not wade into the issues this creates. She has already passed on the opportunity to impose a phase-in ban on KEEPING cetaceans in captivity. Gail Shea and the DFO could care less about an import ban.
For a better understanding of the issue and what can be done about it i suggest a better analysis:
http://www.marinelandindepth.com/2013/12/restricting-import-of-wild-caught.html
LikeLike
I have signed. I strongly urge everyone else reading this to sign as well.
LikeLike