Bill Text: HI HCR208 | 2017 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Urging Hawaii Facilities That Hold Captive Cetaceans For Entertainment Purposes To Discontinue Breeding And To Phase Out Captivity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-29 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on JUD as amended in HD 1 with Representative(s) Ward voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Aquino, Oshiro, Say, Thielen excused (4). [HCR208 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HCR208-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	208
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging Hawaii Facilities that Hold Captive Cetaceans for Entertainment Purposes to Discontinue Breeding and to Phase out Captivity.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, cetaceans, which include dolphins, whales, and porpoises, are highly intelligent and social animals; and

 

     WHEREAS, the County of Maui has prohibited the exhibition of captive cetaceans since 2002; and

 

     WHEREAS, public opposition to the keeping and display of captive cetaceans has increased in the United States and worldwide; and

 

     WHEREAS, at least fourteen other countries have banned or restricted the exhibition and importation of cetaceans; and

 

     WHEREAS, California, New York, and South Carolina have each passed legislation prohibiting the display of some or all species of cetaceans; and

 

     WHEREAS, the National Aquarium in Maryland has decided to retire their remaining dolphins to a seaside sanctuary by 2020, which they will establish and operate; and

 

     WHEREAS, the dysfunctional social structure of captive cetaceans is known to cause unnatural aggression and stress, resulting in injury, illness, or death to the animals and to humans; and

 

     WHEREAS, cetacean facilities have multiple animals exhibiting unaddressed yet documented stereotypical behaviors, such as floating motionless at the surface for prolonged periods (known as "logging") and swimming in repetitive circles, an indication of depression due to the stress of inadequate living conditions; and

 

     WHEREAS, survivorship of cetaceans is reduced, sometimes drastically, in a captive environment; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Marine Mammal Inventory Report in November 2013 indicates that the causes of death for Hawaii's captive cetaceans include food poisoning, capture-related incidents, malnutrition, debilitation, drowning, jumping out of enclosures, trauma, and failure to thrive; and

 

     WHEREAS, animals are injured or deformed due to the ongoing unnatural and physical demands of a job in the entertainment industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, conflicting messages of stewardship are communicated because the Marine Mammal Protection Act forbids feeding or attempting to feed marine mammal species in the wild, but captive facilities incorporate feeding the animals as a part of the "encounter" experience; and

 

     WHEREAS, educational content delivered by a captivity facility is often inaccurate and misleading, as animals are performing theatrical "tricks" rather than displaying natural behaviors; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is environmentally unjust to prevent species from playing their critical role in an ecosystem; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is unethical to isolate a highly intelligent and social animal from its natural environment; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaiian values are neglected by disregarding the ecological, cultural, and spiritual significance of cetaceans; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii facilities that hold captive cetaceans solely for entertainment purposes are urged to discontinue breeding and to phase out captivity; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is urged to cease the issuance of permits for the interstate, intrastate, and inter-facility transfer of captive cetaceans solely for breeding or entertainment purposes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State opposes the construction or development of any new captive cetacean facilities solely for breeding or entertainment purposes; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution shall not affect facilities that use cetaceans solely for scientific and educational purposes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, to be distributed to permitted facilities holding cetaceans captive.

 

 

Report Title: 

Captive Cetaceans