A young orca whale, now named Morgan, was found stranded in Dutch waters. She was sent to the Harderwijk Dolfinarium for rehabilitation in June 2010. Harderwijk Dolfinarium announced on December 2010 that they do not plan to release Morgan back into the ocean.
Instead of being rehabilated and released back into to wild, Harderwijk Dolfinarium in the Netherlands is keeping Morgan as a star attraction, held captive in a tank on public display.
No orcas have been captured for aquarium use in most developed nations for decades, because the voting public has learned how difficult captivity can be for these large, intelligent, free-roaming animals. A female orca can live up to 90 years in the wild, yet captive orcas often die before they reach 30 years of age.
So today the Harderwijk Dolfinarium and the Dutch government have a clear choice. They can either set an ugly precedent by using rehabilitation as an excuse to imprison a free orca, or they can be environmental heroes by saving both Morgan’s life and her freedom. The choice is clear.
We ask that Harderwijk Dolfinarium stop restricting Morgan's freedom of movement and release her back into her natural environment in her home waters to find her complex family social group.
Dolfinarium
Strandboulevard Oost 1
Harderwijk, 3841 AB
Netherlands
Phone: 31 34 146 7467
Fax: 31 34 142 5888
E-Mail: http://www.dolfinarium.nl/
Dutch Prime Pinister
Mark Rutte
Binnenhof 20
Postbus 20001
2500 EA Den Haag
Phone: 31 70 3564100
Fax: 31 70 3564683
E-Mail: http://english.minaz.nl/contact
