It took three years to make it through the political process, but Canada’s House of Commons has passed Bill S-203, or the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.
Of course, that’s hardly a catchy name, so it’s not surprising that it’s been dubbed the “Free Willy” bill in popular culture.
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If you were a kid in the ’90s — or the parent of one — you know exactly what that’s a reference to.
Free Willy was a 1993 movie in which a delinquent kid named Jesse befriends an orca named Willy and eventually helps the whale escape back out into the wild.
For a lot of kids in my generation, the movie instilled a general queasiness with the idea of marine theme parks and large aquatic mammals in captivity.
But a general queasiness did little to hurt the bottom lines of parks like Sea World.
In the 26 years since Free Willy , we’ve seen a lot more evidence of the real toll captivity takes on whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
For example, there was the incident involving the orca Tilikum at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010.
Tilikum was the largest killer whale in captivity, having been caught in the early ’80s. He became the subject of the documentary Blackfish after killing his trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Of the four recorded human deaths ever caused by orca whales, all occurred in captivity and three of them were committed by Tilikum.
Public perception seems to have finally shifted enough to make marine theme parks and aquariums rethink their practices.
While SeaWorld continues to maintain their captive dolphin and whale shows, in 2016 they bowed to public pressure and ended their captive orca breeding programs.
Now more and more governments are considering taking things a step further with legislation.
Canada’s new law was brought to the table in 2015, but it was only last year that it passed through the Senate. This week, it was passed by the House of Commons. All that’s left is for it to go through a process called “royal assent” to become official.
The law bans the keeping and breeding cetaceans like whales, dolphins, and porpoises with fines up to $200,000 for infractions.
Importing and exporting of the animals is also restricted, and they can no longer be made to perform for entertainment.
However, animals currently in captivity are “grandfathered” in.
Unfortunately, we just need to look at the case of Keiko, the whale “actor” who portrayed Willy, to understand why that exception is a thing.
After Free Willy ‘s success, a letter-writing campaign to free Keiko was successful and work began to integrate him back into the wild. In 2002, he was fitted with a tracking device and let loose off the shores of Iceland.
But Keiko struggled to integrate with the wild orcas or to properly feed himself.
He continued to seek out humans for food and socialization. He did successfully migrate to Norway, but again sought out humans. Caretakers created an open pen for him, with regular trips out into the bay, but Keiko passed away from pneumonia only a year later.
The biggest impact of the ban will likely be felt by Marineland, an attraction in Niagara Falls.
They currently have 61 captive cetaceans ( 55 beluga whales, 5 bottlenose dolphins, and 1 orca).
They’ve argued that the bill will cost local jobs, but are determined to continue hosting educational programs with their animals. Advocates hope that the ban will result in declining revenue and those animals can be moved to sanctuaries at a later date.
h/t: CBC
