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WDC2023-007 NMLC Release (16)

Seal Rescued in Marshfield Released Back Into The Wild

For Immediate Release, May 31, 2023 PLYMOUTH, MA - A young male grey seal that...

Norway ups whale kill numbers and removes whale welfare protections

The whaling season in Norway has begun on the back of disturbing announcements from the...
Image taken from an unmanned hexacopter at >100ft during a research collaboration between NOAA/SWFSC, SR3 and the Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Research authorized by NMFS permit #19091.

Southern Resident orca petition to list them under Oregon Endangered Species Act advanced

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to advance a petition seeking to protect...
Hysazu Photography

WDC and Conservation Partners Continue to Seek Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

On Friday, April 21st, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will determine whether the petition...

Netherlands court decision keeps Morgan in captivity

WDC was today disappointed at the decision of a court in the Netherlands to uphold an earlier ruling stating that the export of Morgan, a young orca, to the Loro Parque theme park in Tenerife, Spain, was legal. Campaigners had hoped to have the decision overturned as the first step in a plan to have her returned to the wild.

Morgan was taken into care after stranding on the Dutch coast back in 2010. It was hoped that she would be returned to the wild once she had been rehabilitated but despite the advice of orca experts, instead she was kept in captivity at the Dolphinarium Harderwijk until the facility sold her to Loro Parque in 2012. 

Since then, WDC and other campaigners have attempted to use the legal process to have the decision overturned. In the meantime, Morgan’s health and well-being has suffered during her time in captivity, amidst claims by the park that she is deaf and therefore not suitable for a release programme.

More on the fate of captive orcas.