‘Prevent dolphins from going to China Dolphinarium’ | Inland

The marine mammal park in Harderwijk says it is forced to sell the eight bottlenose dolphins due to a negative result in 2020. The Dolfinarium needs the money to rebuild. From 2029, the zoo will enlarge the basins for the animals. This plan arose after a critical report by a committee of inquiry of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. That committee concluded that the animals were overused as ‘performers’ and that the enclosures are substandard.

The dolphinarium plans to sell the animals to Hainan Ocean Paradise, an amusement park that is not yet open to the public in southern China. The amusement park announces that it follows European regulations regarding marine mammals. But that is impossible to verify, according to a spokeswoman for the animal protection organization. “In addition, these are the same rules that allow marine mammals to still be taken from the wild and do not prohibit touching animals. The latter is something that the committee in the Netherlands considered to be risky for the animal, ”says the spokeswoman.

The Dutch government must issue a permit for the export of these animals. World Animal Protection calls on the government not to cooperate with the plans of the Dolphinarium.

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