Ontario government rejects cruel captivity shows

Ontario’s government is expected to issue an all-out ban on the selling or buying of orcas, as well as a series of changes in the regulations for other captive marine mammals including dolphins.
The move follows a report by scientists at the University of British Columbia that concluded standards of care that apply to marine mammals in public display facilities are insufficient.
Marineland in Ontario holds the province’s only captive killer whale, Kiska, who was caught in the wild and has been living in her concrete tank in the amusement park for 37 years.

This is the latest in a line of similar decisions as the world starts to turn its back on these kinds of ‘entertainment’ shows. In San Francisco measures were passed last year stating that whales, dolphins and porpoises have the right to be free from life in captivity, and in California, a bill was introduced in early 2014 that would make it illegal to “hold in captivity, or use, a wild-caught or captive-bred orca for performance or entertainment purposes.” Also in 2014, a Senate Committee in New York approved a ban on any future parks from keeping orcas in captivity.