Marine Connection was delighted to receive the news that, for the moment, Morgan will remain at the dolfinarium in Harderwijk rather than be moved to Loro Parque. Although it is far from ideal for this young whale to continue being held in a tank which is not suitable for her size, it however means there is the chance that Morgan may still be released back into her natural environment.

The CITES permit issued to export her to Loro Parque is no longer valid and the judge has ruled that the Dutch ministry must read the scientific documentation provided to them supporting the case for her release back to her natural habitat and address the objections, rather than ignore them, and not to allow the dolfinarium to make the final decision on Morgan’s future.

Harderwijk must have been confident they were going to win the case as they had planned to transfer Morgan to Loro Parque within days of the court hearing before even being aware of the Judge's decision however this attitude is sadly fairly typical of the captivity industry who arrogantly use their money and power to obtain animals in this way. Lastly, the judge ruled that Morgan must be given more space at the current facility and to be allowed to mingle with the dolphins at Harderwijk.

Marine Connection director Margaux Dodds comments; “This is a huge step forward for the case that Morgan should be returned to the wild and the charity wishes to congratulate all involved in working so hard to bring about this result and of course all supporters who have via the FreeMorgan.com site added their voice so that Morgan may have the chance to live in her natural habitat rather than face a lifetime of captivity."

images (c) Ute Margreff