A legal dispute between Vancouver Aquarium in Canada and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation regarding the keeping of cetaceans is set to rumble on, after an appeal court decision this week.

Following the deaths in captivity of two beluga whales at Vancouver Aquarium, the board passed a bylaw amendment in May 2017 banning cetaceans from being brought to or kept in city parks.

The aquarium’s response was to ask for a judicial review seeking to set aside the bylaw amendment on four grounds, including that the park board’s licence agreement with the aquarium prevented it from applying the change. A British Columbia (BC) Supreme Court judge agreed with this and declared the bylaw amendment void. However, a panel of three Appeal Court judges has now overturned that decision, and has sent the matter back to the BC Supreme Court to consider the other grounds in the aquarium’s challenge.

Whichever way the legal wrangle eventually turns, Vancouver Aquarium has already decided not to keep dolphins or whales any longer ‒ a decision announced in January 2018. The aquarium said that continuing the legal process was important because it opposed the park board using a bylaw to alter its licence agreement. It added that it would study the judgement and its implications before determining it next course of action.

For the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, chair Stuart Mackinnon commented: “The amendment to our bylaw is thoughtful and reflective of public opinion. The Court’s decision upholds our legislative powers to regulate activities and operations within our parks.”