A sanctuary is, by definition, a place where the wellbeing of the residents is always the priority.
A couple of years ago, my friend Lauren sent me a photo from her vacation abroad. It was of herself and her family riding an elephant at a place that billed itself as an animal sanctuary.
A few months later, when she asked me whether she’d be able to visit the whale sanctuary at Port Hilford, I felt the need to explain that the place she’d visited on vacation is not, in fact, an authentic sanctuary. Just for starters, the elephant who was giving rides would have suffered a long period of rigorous, painful training before she would obey commands and submit to tourists sitting in a carriage on her back.
Lauren told me she’d been having doubts herself about the experience. So we talked some more, and I told her the four basic questions I always ask about any facility that calls itself a sanctuary:
- Does it engage in performances, demonstrations or displays?
- Are visitors allowed access to the animals for commercial purposes like rides, petting pools and up-close photos with the animals?
- Does it allow breeding?
- And overall, does it have any priorities other than the well-being of the animals?
If the answer to any of those questions is “Yes,” then it’s not an authentic sanctuary.
Photo by Global Sanctuary for Elephants
A sanctuary is by definition a place where the wellbeing of the residents is always the priority.
There are hundreds of first-class sanctuaries all over the world: for elephants, big cats, bears, great apes, dogs and cats, koalas, parrots, and other animals of all kinds. And while visitors can usually take a tour, there are no rides and no close-up experiences, and everyone stays at a respectful distance from the residents.
These top-of-the-line land-based sanctuaries are an inspiration to all of us who are creating seaside sanctuaries for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. And our bottom line will always be the wellbeing of the animals who live there.
Right now, we’re witnessing a fundamental change in public opinion regarding how people relate to whales and dolphins.
Whale sanctuaries are just in their formative years. And so, as we design this sanctuary for captive whales in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, we intend for it to set the gold standard for what can then be, in years to come, many more such sanctuaries all over the world.