Author: Margaux Dodds

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.

DFE member organisation One Voice reports on the release of a new report commissioned by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTE) looking at options for the future of Marineland, Antibes orcas and dolphins.

Further details here

Many of our supporters have been closely following the story of the lone beluga whale, known as Hvaldimir. First seen in Norwegian waters in 2019, wearing what is thought to have been a harness issued by the Russian military, Hvaldimir was sadly found dead in August this year.   The Norwegian Veterinary Institute has conducted a necropsy, and their report on the cause of Hvaldimir’s death can be found here.

For the third edition of this international united gathering, thirty-seven countries and overseas associations were represented with the support of four vegan restaurants and several political parties. The memory of animals who died in dolphinariums and places of captivity and training exploiting animals were invoked with a minute of silence observed for all the dolphins and orcas who have died at the marine park since its opening, including of course Moana and Inouk, who lost their lives in the Marineland pools where they vegetated their entire existence. Some words were said in memory of Lolita-Tokitae. Finally, a message was formulated in honour of Morgan, captured in the Netherlands and held at Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain and for Kshamenk in Argentina.

report and images courtesy of One Voice

Today, several members of Dolphinaria-Free Europe, including Born Free Foundation, Marine Connection, One Voice, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and World Animal Protection joined forces with other animal welfare organisations, across 9 counties, uniting at TUI Group’s offices in Berlin, to show there is support across Europe for them to stop selling tickets to captive dolphin venues.  It’s time to change what is seen as ‘entertainment’ and prioritise the well-being of animals over profit.  Consumer demand for ethical tourism is rising, and together we will not stop until captive whale and dolphin entertainment is truly a thing of the past.

Will TUI now listen to the hundreds of thousands of voices, and join other travel companies who have chosen to stop promoting and selling this type of activity to their customers?