Skip to main content
The Whale Sanctuary Project | Back to Nature
  • The Sanctuary
  • Whale Aid
  • The Team
  • The Whales
  • Deeper Dive
  • Blog
  • Events

Donate  Subscribe

  • The Sanctuary
  • Whale Aid
  • The Team
  • The Whales
  • Deeper Dive
  • Blog
  • Events

What Is an Authentic Sanctuary?

Posted February 10, 2021 in News, Opinion by Lori Marino

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.

Photo of Lori Marino
Lori Marino
President

Also on the Blog

  • Canada Bans Captivity of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
  • Orca Brains and Intelligence
  • A Deep Dive into Environmental Analysis
  • TEDx Talk “Whales Without Walls” by Charles Vinick
  • Whale Aid Russia

Live Series of Webinars

What is an authentic sanctuary?
Latest discoveries about beluga whale societies
The psychology of captivity.
Free Willy and the legacy of Keiko.
… and many more.

A series of engaging conversations >

Join Us

Subscribe for Latest News

Make a donation

Get email updates

Subscribe

Follow Us

Help create the sanctuary

Make a donation
  • Privacy Policy |
  • Terms and Conditions of Use |
  • Contact Us |
  • UX Design by Dialogue Theory

© 2023 The Whale Sanctuary Project. All Rights Reserved.