What You Can Do To Help Captive Animals In Places Like Marineland

Posted by Doug Draper, publisher, Niagara At Large

 If you have been following the series of articles The Toronto Star is running this August on Marineland and some of the posts that have appeared on this site on concerns of the conditions for animals at that Niagara Falls amusement park, you may be saying; ‘Well that’s disturbing but what can I do about it?

Bears begging for food from visitors at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Park owner John Holer was recently quoted saying in a Toronto Star story; “We taje care of the animals – better than I would take care of myself. File photo courtesy of the Toronto-based public interest group ZooCheck Canada.

 Well other than not supporting places like this with your money, which is ultimately the best thing people can do to shut down this place down as an animal circus, there is a lot you can do actually – starting with contacting your  MPPs and MPs and urging them to support tougher regulations for commercial sites like Marineland that hold marine mammals and terrestrial animals like deer, bears and buffalo.

 Along with contacting your own MPP and MP, you may wish to fire off an email to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who has talked a good game when it comes to doing something about the province’s pathetically weak laws for commercial animal compounds, but has done little or nothing about it for someone who should be smart enough to know that there is a thin line between abusing and bullying humans (an issue he also claims to be concerned about) and treating other animals among us badly.

 You might also want to contact at least one member of McGuinty’s Liberal caucus – MPP Lorenzo Berardinetti from the Toronto area riding of Scarborough Southwest – who indicated in an August 25 Toronto Star article that he is prepared to call on the government to put some “real teeth” in Ontario animal protection legislation to punish those who operate substandard commercial compounds.  His email address is lberardinetti.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org . 

Ultimately, we should also be doing what Britain and several other developed countries of the world are doing and phasing out the capture of marine mammals anywhere in the world for show and entertainment in places like Marineland. As the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies has reported;´” CFHS opposes keeping cetaceans … in captivity because the needs of such large complicated creatures cannot possibly be properly met in an aquarium.”

There are many steps you can take to help animals at places like Marineland and Niagara At Large is pleased to post some of them below. The first suggestions for what you can do come from one of Canada’s most reputable animal advocacy group and one that has been monitoring conditions at Marineland for well over two dcades now. That group is ZooCheck Canada, and her are there recommendations as posted on their site which you can visit at http://www.zoocheck.com/index.html .

From ZooCheck

The recent Toronto Star series about Marineland in Niagara Falls have prompted many people to ask how they can help the animals.

If you are concerned about the situation please read the information below and click on the link to find out how you can help.

RULES NEEDED FOR ONTARIO’S AQUARIUMS, ZOOS AND MENAGERIES

There have been many initiatives, going back more than 30 years, aimed at dealing with Ontario’s lack of regulation and oversight of zoos, menageries and aquariums, but none have been successful. That is largely because no Ontario Premier has ever supported one of these initiatives. 

Ontario needs a tough regulatory system, that includes licensing, high standards of animal management, care and safety that evolve with the times, a reporting system that requires inventory reports and other information from license holders on an annual basis, regular inspections and a legitimate process for dealing with public complaints. What won’t solve the problem is a one time inspection of one facility because it’s in the news.

The responsibility for protecting wild animals in captivity ultimately lies at the feet of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, so please let him know what you think of the Marineland situation and the deplorable lack of regulation of zoos, menageries and aquariums in Ontario.

CLICK BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW TO HELP THE ANIMALS AT MARINELAND AND OTHER ONTARIO FACILITIES

http://www.zoocheck.com/campaigns_zoos_ontario_action.html

Zoocheck is a national animal protection charity (#13150 2072 RR 0001) established in 1984 to promote and protect the interests and well-being of wild animals.

Zoocheck works to improve wildlife protection and to end the abuse, neglect and exploitation of individual wild animals through:

• investigation and research
• public education and awareness campaigns
• capacity building initiatives
• legislative actions
• litigation

Now here are some ideas from two animal advocacy groups based in the greater Niagara region. These notes come from Niagara Action For Animals, with some suggested near the end from the activist group, Marineland Animal Defense.

You can find out more about Niagara Action for Animals (NAFA) by visiting http://www.niagaraactionforanimals.org/ and more about Marineland Animal Defense by visiting http://marinelandanimaldefense.com/ . You may also wish to consider making a donation to these not-for-profit groups.

 Dear Friends of Animals …many people have been asking what they can do to help animals at Marineland. …

Send a letter or email to your own elected Member of Provincial Parliament. Ask them to assist in pushing for a comprehensive law to control zoos, menageries and aquariums. If you don’t know who your representative is find out her:    http://fyed.elections.on.ca/fyed/en/form_page_en.jsp?channel_id=%7B923146e7-4d81-42a8-99f0-e61f5ab50387%7D&lang=en

Voice your concern to the Premier about the conditions at Marineland and the lack of rules, regulations and oversight of zoos, menageries and aquariums in Ontario.

Write to:  Premier Dalton McGuinty
Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
Fax: 1-416-325-7578
Or send the Premier an email from his website:  https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/en/feedback/default.aspx

Libby is a longstanding NDP member who in 2001 introduced a private members bill urging for a closure of the wild capture loophole. Now, as then, it was illegal to wild capture a marine mammal for display in Canada, however, it is  legal to import and export animals wild caught in other countries (Russia, Japan, etc.) Libby, as Fisheries and Oceans critic, put this proposal forward when the NDP had 13 seats. The now have 103. Libby is no longer the Fisheries and Oceans critic, however, Libby can answer the call and lead the effort to resurrect this effort.

For everyone looking for someone to contact, and for legislation to get behind, this is where time and effort need to be dedicated.Contact information for Libby is below.
Libby Davies Community Office 2412 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 3E2 Canada

Email: libby.davies@parl.gc.ca
Phone: +1 (604) 775 5800
Fax: +1 (604) 775 5811

Office Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10am – 4pm

Parliament Hill Office
542-N Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Canada
Email: libby.davies@parl.gc.ca
Phone: +1 (613) 992 6030
Fax: +1 (613) 995 7412

Niagara Action for Animals is a non-profit, all volunteer charity devoted to ending all forms of animal cruelty through education, direct action and legitimate protest.

(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post below. Remember to show the courage that others are on this topic and share your first and last name with your comments. With the exception of rare circumstances where we know the individual and we are convinced they could face serious repercussions if they are identified,  NAL does not post anonymous comments.)