The Cetacean Sanctuary: A Sea of Unknowns

The journal, Animals, has published a special issue that includes overviews and original research papers that rigorously assess zoo and aquarium behavior, welfare and ethics. One of the papers, The Cetacean Sanctuary: A Sea of Unknowns is written by frequent Zoo Logic guest, Dr. Jason Bruck and concerns the elusive cetacean sanctuary standards put forth by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). Jason methodically asks questions about important aspects of animal welfare arising from these standards, which point to no supportive peer-reviewed citations or a history of best practices as seen in other zoological welfare and husbandry standards such as the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In the final analysis, it is difficult to reconcile the stated top priority of sanctuary proponents, maximizing animal welfare, with the more likely motivation, the end of cetaceans in managed care.

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