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.
