Release orca Morgan back into the wild!

3DAYZ

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLE LETTER OR SEE BELOW

BACKGROUND | SOURCE 3DAYZ

Orca Morgan was found malnourished and dehydrated in the Wadden Sea, off the northwestern coast of the Netherlands on the 23rd of June, 2010. Although EU law states that captured orcas must be returned to the wild, the Dolfinarium at Harderwijk who ‘rescued’ her had no intention of releasing her. Morgan was sold to Loro Parque, Tenerife and now lives in a small unnatural environment away from her family.

A release plan, written by more than 40 expert and which ensured the safe return of Morgan to the wild and to her family, was ignored by the Dolfinarium. Instead the Dolfinarium turned to SeaWorld for help. An obvious choice, since the 5 orcas who are already in Loro Parque are owned by SeaWorld.

EU wildlife trade rules prohibit the use of orcas for commercial purposes, said the European Commission and Dietrich Jelden, the head of Germany’s Cites management authority at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. The only exemptions are for primarily scientific, captive breeding for conservation purposes or education reasons.

A spokesman at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, which gave permission for the move, said: “We rely on the Spanish authorities that Loro Parque is not only commercial, but also has some aspects of scientific research and education.” As of February the 17th, 2012 Morgan performs in shows in Loro Parque…

But the real money will be made through breeding programs. When Morgan was caught in 2010, she was estimated to be about 2 years old. Females breed until the age of 40 and mothers calve about once every 5 years. This means Morgan will give birth to 6 or 7 calves, with each calve being worth millions when sold to other marine parks.

While legal battles continue, please keep the pressure on Loro Parque to release orca Morgan and send a protest mail today!

For background info and news about the legal battle, check www.orkacoalitie.nl (English/Dutch)
For more info about the Spanish campaign, please visit GAP (English) / PGS (Spanish)


WHOM TO CONTACT

Loro Parque, S.A.
Avenida Loro Parque s/n
38400 Puerto de la Cruz
Tenerife, Canary Islands – Spain

Phone: 00 34 922 37 38 41
Fax: 00 34 922 37 50 21
Email: relacionespublicas@loroparque.com, personal@loroparque.com, social@loroparque.com, loroparque@loroparque.com, protest@3dayz.com

Tweet: @LoroParque
Facebook: facebook.com/LoroParque


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Loro Parque,

After reading about her on 3dayz.com, I am deeply concerned about the continued housing and display of orca Morgan at Loro Parque, Tenerife. I completely support reuniting her with her family in the wild according to the release plan of the experts of the Free Morgan Group. This will be in the best interest of orca Morgan for some (but not all) of the following reasons:

– although she’s been held captive for about 2 years now, she still makes a good candidate to be released back into the wild;

– sound recordings and DNA analysis suggests that Morgan belongs to a Norwegian population of orcas;

–  EU wildlife trade rules prohibit the use of orcas for commercial purposes. Spanish authorities acknowledged Loro Parque as a zoo and it’s agreed among the European Cites experts that every zoo must be considered a commercial facility, in which research or education in most circumstances has either no or only secondary priority;

– in a similar case to that of orca Morgan, orca Springer was released successfully back into the wild. At the same time, Morgan’s case is nothing like the case of orca Keiko (Free Willy), who died shortly after being released, since Keiko had lived more than 20 years in captivity;

– marine parks will never meet the requirements needed to house orcas, dolphins or other marine mammals accordingly. Orcas, dolphins and other marine mammals can therefore never display their natural behaviour which is a serious violation of their welfare and rights.

To read what experts say about Morgan’s captivity in Loro Parque, please read their testimonials at http://www.freemorgan.com/why-morgan-should-be-free

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Morgan has feelings,
Morgan wants to be
Free
To live as an orca
In an orca society !

Karen Lyons Kalmenson