GA aquarium

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I post ocassionally but mostly lurk so many probably don't know me. I

have a 3 year old daughter. The three of us are vegans. I am vegan

for all the reasons you can think of but my husband follows veganism

only to decrease animal suffering and for health. He still believes

somewhat that we should eat animals, if we wish, if their conditions

were better. He supports my decision to raise our daughter vegan in

all sense of the word, we have no animal products in the house and he

follows a very strict vegan diet like me.

 

My problem is that he wants to take us to the GA Aquarium next week.

I do visit some places like this if I can find info and feel they are

truly doing the best possible for habitat enrichment and that their

goal is really conservation and they have a good track record in

accomplishing this. I cannot find this info on the aquarium. I am

very concerned about the beluga whales and shark whales. I know 2 of

the belugas were rescued from poor conditions in a park in Mexico and

three came from a conservation program from NY. And the tank they are

in is 800,000 gallons. I cannot find any more specifics such as how

deep is the tank - belugas move about through a 66 ft depth and

routinely dive 1 mile for food, I know external pressure is important

to these large animals - is it being provided in this small space? I

know the beluga isn't endangered or threated but is classified

Appendix II meaning that it is vulnerable. Also their numbers have

declined significantly in the last two decades. So, " I " don't have a

problem with APPROPRIATE conservation measures. But I don't have a

good gut feeling about this organization. Does anyone know if this is

the case at the GA Aquarium? Also, I haven't had time to look up info

on the whale sharks (other than they were rescued from becoming

someone's dinner) or other animals there.

 

Oh, because we are raising our child together, I have given in to him

taking her. I may not go but would like to be there to discuss things

with her - great opportunity for educating her about conservation and

veganism. But I can't go myself in good conscience until I have more

info. I can teach her outside this arena without compromising myself.

 

If anyone has bilogical and technical information or if you have

visited the aquarium, could you please comment?

 

The last time I visited the Atlanta Zoo, I had just converted to O-L

vegetarianism. If you have any comments about the zoo, I would like

to hear them as well. I just don't have the time to do the needed

research.

 

(I am not trying to start a flaming thread - I have seen those on

this site regarding zoos and aquariums in the past. I merely want

information on this specific issue. Zoocheck has no information and

the info on the no whales in captivity site is at least a decade old.)

 

 

Thanks,

Carrol