Morgan's Story

The above picture is that of an Orca Named Morgan. She was Captured about six years ago when she was spotted swimming alone in the waters off the Netherlands. She was not stranded or in distress but was extremely underweight, but still able to swim on her own. She was captured by a local theme park Dolfinarium Harderwijk, under a Dutch Government issued "rescue, rehabilitation and release" permit. She was supposed to be rehabilitated and then reintroduced to her family, whom she was not with at the time of capture. Scientists have recorded Morgans echo's and sounds and have found a pod that shows promise to be her family. Everything looked like it was going to have a happy ending for this young whale.

However and unfortunately, the theme park did not fulfill its entire promise and instead had Morgan trained institutionalized behaviours and kept in a tank much too small for her to move around in for up to 18 months.

A group of Dutch NGO's (Non-Government Officials) decided that this was not right, (Clearly!) and banded together to fight for her freedom. Working with experts around the world, they took the Dutch Government, (who had issued the permit for her capture under the term of her being released once healthy) to court. Unfortunately, the theme park and the government did not present all the relevant information. This resulted in a poor orientation of the case to the court. The court then failed to review crucial evidence, dismissed new findings brought forward by Orca Experts, overlooked aspects of the law, and in turn stripped Morgan of her legal rights. The injustice in the case is infuriating but the end verdict, in this case, was a true display of how broken the justice system is. She was shipped off to Loro Parque, a theme park in Spain, on loan from SeaWorld.

SeaWorld is well-known for its cruelty and mistreatment of animals and has been the target of local petitions since the release of the movie Blackfish. When asked in an interview, Sea world denied having captured an Orca from the wild in almost 40 years. As this may stand true, they did take a wild whale, just had someone else do their dirty work.

Morgan has been fighting hard against her captures since day one. She has repeatedly beached herself in an attempt to kill herself. She also can be seen banging her head against the walls of her tank, and chewing at the gates to try to get free, (resulting in tooth damage).

When questioned on this behaviour the park simply said it was considered normal behaviour.

If you ask me, there is nothing normal about that behaviour. As PETA had said it represents a much larger issue.

The park recently released a statement regarding her condition:

"It is absolutely illogical and absurd to assume that the length and the quality of such video would be sufficient to make a conclusion and declaration of such nature,” says the statement regarding the video. “A voluntary stranding is a natural behaviour of orcas living in the wild… The orcas at Loro Parque are trained to leave the water on their own accord. This behaviour is used for manifold purposes, for example, for presenting the animals to the public, for conducting corporal check-ups, for inspecting their blowholes, as well as for testing hearing abilities of the orcas."

If you ask me that sounds like a load of crap. If Orcas spend too much time out of the water their incredible mass will begin to crush their organs. So no, SeaWorld and Lora Parque, this is not okay and normal. When asked about Morgans repetitive behaviour regarding banging her head in the metal grates, the company said: "The video published by the Dolphin Project on its website is a new attempt at manipulation through exaggeration and dramatization of a completely normal situation in which there is no problem for the animals."

"No problem for the animal"? The poor thing is banging her head into the metal bars. Clearly a sign of frustration. The company stated that a lot of spectators were "ignorant" to what was normal. Well if you ask me suicidal attempts, frustrated head banging and clear distressed behaviour is not "Normal".

PETA released the following statement regarding the situation Via Fox News' Email:

"PETA says Morgan's behaviour signals a much larger issue."

"Morgan was captured from the sea six years ago and has been fighting hard against the trials of her captivity ever since. Her behaviour shows that she is frantic to get back to the ocean home that she remembers and misses," PETA Foundation Director of Animal Law Jared Goodman told FoxNews via email."

"At Loro Parque, where she is on "loan" from SeaWorld, she is treated as a possession and used for profit. She has been attacked by incompatible orcas dozens of times a day, has smashed her head into a gate over and over again, and has now beached herself in absolute desperation. SeaWorld needs to release this suffering orca and the others it holds captive to a seaside sanctuary now."

So to top off a terrible situation she is also being terrorized by the other orcas that are there.

SeaWorld does not have direct affiliations with Lora Parque, but "loaned Morgan " to the theme park in 2011 has told FoxNews via email "that the animal’s actions constitute normal whale behaviour and she will continue to be part of the park presentations as normal."

SeaWorld also stated:

“Loro Parque is a respected zoological institution, and our two organizations manage the care of these killer whales cooperatively. We consult regularly with them on veterinary care, husbandry and training, and have enjoyed a long association with them on conservation programs, animal rescue and scientific research. Morgan receives regular health and wellness exams from a team of veterinarians and animal care specialists and is currently healthy and thriving. In fact, she continues to grow and gain weight at a healthy rate since her rescue in 2010 when she was found alone and emaciated. There are no concerns with Morgan sliding out as shown in the video as the whales do this with some regularity.”

However, the Free Morgan foundation says she lives in "horrifying conditions" with regular indignities and forced to perform tricks for food.

Personally, I don't know if I have ever read a story that infuriated me quite as much as this one does. There is no respect or care for these animals, as all they serve is to make the corporation money. To removed an Orca from its habitat and claim that you want to rehabilitate it and release it, then ship it off to a theme park to perform in a bathtub, well I personally don't know how these corporations sleep at night knowing the emotional and physical pain these poor creatures are going through. Morgan shows signs of wanting to be released (Head Banging in the gate) because she is a wild animal and remembers the joy of her ocean home. To keep her locked up like this is a crime.

Below I have attached links to the video of Morgan Beaching herself and the fox news website with a write-up in this story, where I first learned of this cruelty to Morgan, I also have attached a link on how you can get involved and help Morgan, from the Free Morgan campaign. As well as a link to a petition you can sign to help demand her freedom. I dream of a day when Orcas are wild and free and the thought of captivity (for any animal) is barbaric.

Thanks for reading!

"Please be a Voice for those who cannot speak. Please help End Captivity"