Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Some of my fondest memories from elementary school consist of my experiences from school field trips. To this day, my visit to the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is a core memory. With its interactive activities, various exhibitions, and educative displays, many leave Ripley’s Aquarium with a newfound appreciation for the ocean and marine life. As a nine-year-old, the opportunity to physically touch a stingray at one of the exhibitions played a pivotal role in fostering my interest in ocean conservation initiatives. By providing the means to create personal connections with marine life through the experiences offered by Ripley’s Aquarium, many people can find a reason to take the initiative to be informed about issues relating to the ocean.
Ripley’s Stingray Experience
Although my experiences at Ripley’s Aquarium were positive, reflection has allowed me to acknowledge that many aspects of the aquarium raise ethical concerns. For example, while physical touch with marine creatures through the use of touch tanks may result in humans leaving with a newfound appreciation for the ocean, animals being subjected to physical touch from humans can induce stress responses. In conjunction with the manmade nature of aquariums, exposure to constant touch increases the amount of pathogens and foreign bacteria in the environment–potentially resulting in sickness for various marine species.
A second ethical implication resulting from the nature of aquariums relates to wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking involves the transport of non-domesticated plants and animals from their natural habitats to environments that are controlled by humans. Oftentimes the phrase wildlife trafficking calls up images of animal poaching and the elephant ivory trade, however, it is a practice that is utilized by aquariums by Ripley’s. Aquariums are unable to breed the species of fish that they often showcase, thereby relying on the animals to be captured in the wild and kept in captivity. Throughout this process which involves the capture and transportation of the marine species, a large number of species of saltwater fish simply die as the biological and social requirements for them to thrive cannot be met once they have been placed in captivity.
Seaspiracy