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Ontario Legal Organization, AEL Advocacy Files Complaint Regarding Violations of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act at Big Al’s Aquarium Supercentre Ottawa

 

OTTAWA, November 13, 2024 — AEL Advocacy (Animal Environmental Legal Advocacy) is calling on Big Al’s Aquarium Supercentre Ottawa to release Toothless, a 5-foot-long whitetip reef shark currently confined in an 8-foot tank, where he has been kept in isolation for approximately six years.

 

AEL Advocacy’s legal team has filed a formal complaint with Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS), requesting an investigation into what they believe are serious violations of Ontario’s Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act. Under the PAWS Act, it is illegal to cause an animal to be in distress or to expose an animal to “undue risk of distress.” AEL Advocacy contends that the conditions at Big Al’s meet this threshold and are harmful to Toothless’s well-being.

 

“In the wild, whitetip reef sharks live in social groups within expansive home ranges of 0.3 to 3 kilometers, often moving up to 3 kilometers daily through their habitats,” says Nives Ilic, President of AEL Advocacy’s Board of Directors. “Toothless is currently alone in a confined tank, where he is observed circling continuously. He deserves a life that respects his nature, and we urge Big Al’s to release him and commit to never keeping another shark in captivity.”

 

Members of the public who wish to support the campaign can sign AEL Advocacy’s online petition.

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For further information, contact:
Kira Berkeley, Co-Director and Counsel, AEL Advocacy
kira@aeladvocacy.ca

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