Unofficial reports suggest that the orca known as Morgan, currently held at Loro Parque Zoo in Tenerife, Canary Islands is pregnant and is due to give birth in a few weeks.
This would be Morgan’s second calf, her previous calf Ula, died at the park in 2021 from a reported twisted bowel/intestine, just shortly before her third birthday.
As the future for the two remaining orcas, Wikie and Keijo, currently held in tanks at Marineland Antibes, in the south of France, remains uncertain, the Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition asks why the Ministry is making a hasty decision, given the deadline to move them is not until 2026.
French Minister for Ecological Transition and Energy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher has announced she opposes the move of the last remaining orcas at Marineland, Antibes, (Wikie and Keijo her son), to a facility in western Japan due to the country’s lack of animal welfare regulations.
However, she also commented that there are parks currently able to accommodate the two orcas, which are subject to European regulations, one of which is Loro Parque a Spanish zoo located on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Loro Parque currently holds three orcas: Tekoa (M-24 years old), Morgan (F-16 or 17 years old) and Adàn (M-14 years old). The future of Wikie and Keijo now hangs in the balance, and a decision about where they will go will be made soon.
The *Flemish government has ruled that the dolphinarium at Boudewijn Seapark in Bruges, Belgium which has been the subject of debate for many years, must close by 2037. The facility currently displays six captive dolphins and is the last of its kind in Belgium, unsurprisingly the park’s management has vowed to challenge the decision, arguing that this breaches prior agreements to create an outdoor pool by 2027, with a new evaluation that would take place in 2037.
*Flemish minister for Animal Welfare, Ben Weyts has said that in 2037 the outdoor pool will be completely written off as the operators will then have recovered their investment. Boudewijn Seapark is owned by Aspro Parks (Aspro Ocio Group), a Spanish leisure corporation that operates many water /amusement parks, aquariums, zoos and dolphinariums across Europe. The question now is what will happen to the dolphins as the closure could happen much sooner, Dolphinaria-Free Europe is investigating further.
*The federal state of Flanders has its own legislative and executive powers and is the autonomous northern region of Belgium
Today, DFE member organisation, One Voice, attended the hearing regarding the future of Marineland’s two remaining orcas and other animals.
The final decision is expected on 5 December, however in the meantime One Voice was advised that the seals and sea lions are headed for China, however, Marineland are saying they will be going to Spain. We await confirmation but it is clear from the image provided by our colleagues that plans are already underway for the seals and sealions at least.
