Vancouver Aquarium opens marine mammal hospital building
Prior to Marine Mammal Rescue Centre hospital facility, animal surgeries took place in garden shed
The Vancouver Aquarium has opened a new hospital building for sick and injured marine mammals.
On Wednesday, it unveiled the facility at the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre aimed at rehabilitating sick, injured and orphaned animals.
"The hospital has been a long time coming," said Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian and the centre's director.
Until the opening of the facility, he says medical procedures and surgeries took place in a garden shed dubbed the "med shed".
"When the med shed came here, five or six years ago, we thought it was the greatest med shed in the world compared to working out in the rain but it is small, cramped, cold — particularly not conducive to more sterile procedures," he said.
This new space is a far cry from a garden storage space.
It houses an exam and surgical room which is equipped with an endoscope and X-ray.
In a news release, the aquarium says the entire cost of the $544,000 facility was funded by private donations.
