OTTAWA – National animal law organization Animal Justice is applauding Parliament for passing Bill S-203, historic legislation that bans keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. The House of Commons voted in favour of the bill at third reading today. “This is a watershed moment for whales and dolphins, and powerful recognition that our country no… Read more » Animal Justice
Vancouver Aquarium Drops Copyright Lawsuit Against Filmmaker
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Aquarium has dropped its copyright lawsuit against filmmaker Gary Charbonneau. The Aquarium filed a notice of discontinuance in the case this week, shortly before CEO John Nightingale was set to be cross-examined by counsel for Mr. Charbonneau.
The Aquarium first filed the copyright infringement lawsuit against Mr. Charbonneau in 2016 over his documentary Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered, which exposed the Aquarium’s cruel practice of confining sentient whales and dolphins in concrete tanks. The lawsuit was deemed a misuse of copyright law by legal experts, designed to suppress public criticism and debate through the court process.
The Aquarium sought to have the entire documentary removed from the internet, and was successful in obtaining a preliminary injunction ordering that certain segments be removed. On appeal, the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned that injunction, emphasizing the importance of Mr. Charbonneau’s freedom of expression.
Animal Justice intervened in the appeal to express concerns that the case could negatively affect the ability of animal advocates to film, expose, and publicize animal cruelty issues across Canada, emboldening secretive animal use industries to file illegitimate copyright lawsuits to silence animal advocates. This could prevent them from investigating, documenting, and exposing hidden animal cruelty.
“I am delighted this frivolous lawsuit has finally been dropped,” said Mr. Charbonneau. “However, I remain troubled by the Aquarium’s aggressive litigation strategy, and I am concerned they will continue to fight losing legal battles at the expense of conservation and rescue.”
“We are glad the Aquarium has finally determined to drop its unmeritorious lawsuit and let the documentary speak for itself, so that Canadians can make their own judgments about the ethics of the Aquarium’s practices,” said Arden Beddoes of Arvay Finlay LLP, counsel to Mr. Charbonneau.
“This lawsuit had disturbing implications for those who investigate, document, and expose animal cruelty,” said Camille Labchuk, a lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice. “The writing is on the wall for the cruel captivity industry, as the public no longer supports keeping sentient animals confined for entertainment.”
The Aquarium also sought judicial review of the Vancouver Park Board’s bylaw banning them from keeping whales and dolphins in Stanley Park. The bylaw was overturned last month, but the Park Board is appealing to the B.C. Court of Appeal.
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The Notice of Discontinuance is available here.
For more information, contact:
Gary Charbonneau
evotioninc@gmail.com
Arden Beddoes
Arvay Finlay LLP
abeddoes@arvayfinlay.ca
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director, Animal Justice
camille@animaljustice.ca
Animal Justice
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Vancouver Aquarium Forced to Give Up On Whale & Dolphin Captivity
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Aquarium announced today that it would give up on its decades-long fight to continue to imprison and display whales and dolphins in tiny tanks.
Camille Labchuk, a lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice, issued the following statement.
“The Vancouver Aquarium appears to have finally accepted that whale and dolphin captivity is no longer socially acceptable in Canada. Today’s announcement is a tremendous victory for the thousands of compassionate citizens who stood up against the cruel practice of keeping smart, sentient whales and dolphins imprisoned in tiny tanks.
“But the Aquarium’s new position comes extremely late in the game. For decades, the Aquarium has fought tooth and nail against attempts to restrict or prohibit whale and dolphin captivity at its facility. The Aquarium is now backing down from this fight, but only after years of being the target of protests, being embroiled in lawsuits, and hit with a ban on cetacean captivity imposed by Vancouver’s Park Board.
“The writing is on the wall for the whale and dolphin captivity industry. We are relieved that no more cetaceans will suffer and die at the Aquarium.”
The Aquarium recently lost a court case seeking to silence filmmaker Gary Charbonneau and his critical documentary Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered.
The Aquarium is still suing the Park Board in an attempt to overturn the anti-captivity by-law, claiming it restricts the Aquarium’s freedom of expression. Animal Justice and Zoocheck intervened in that case, which has already been heard. The judge in that case is expected to issue a ruling shortly.
A bill moving through the Canadian Senate would impose a nation-wide ban on keeping whales and dolphins in captivity. It is expected to be voted on when Parliament resumes later this month.
Meanwhile, several whales and dolphins recently died at the Aquarium, including beluga whales Qila and Aurora in late 2016, porpoise Daisy in June, 2017, and false killer whale Chester in November, 2017. The only surviving cetacean at the Aquarium is a Pacific white-sided dolphin named Helen.
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For more information, contact:
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
camille@animaljustice.ca
Join the Animal Justice mailing list
Animal Justice
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February 25 intakes
on Feb. 25th, we brought into care eight new faces. One was injured and had to be rushed to veterinary care, but the others are settling nicely into their foster homes and learning their new routines. Over the course of the next 2-3 weeks, we will learn a lot about them - their quirks and
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Bowie
Hello SCARS, Thought we'd take a moment and let you know Bowie has settled in, is well loved by staff, and loves greeting customers as they come into the greenhouse. He's quite the talkative boy and is already telling us what to do. Bowie is a great Ambassador, Therapist and Mouser Extraordinaire (at least
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Lucy & YoD
Hello SCARS, Both of these dogs are foster fails. On the left is Lucy, now nine, found at a northern dump with four pups in the summer of 2012. She was a very young mom and treated them a bit like squeaky toys. She even busted everyone out of the enclosure and nearly drowned two
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Second Chance Animal Rescue Society