[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Orca gets lawyer  no, really!

(Change.org news)

Morgan the Captive Orca Gets a Lawyer
by Renee Evans · February 17, 2011
Topics: Animals in Entertainment · Wildlife

A few months ago, Annie Hartnett brought you the story of Morgan, a young orca who had been found stranded and was being held at the Harderwijk Dolfinarium. More than seven months and thousands of supporters later, Morgan is still waiting in her small tank at the marine park.

But now, the Orca Coalition has taken the campaign a step further, and found a lawyer for Morgan. The Orca Coalition is made up of seven different animal welfare and conservation groups: The Black Fish, Sea First Foundation, Pink!, Dolphinmotion, Een Dier Een Vriend (An Animal, a Friend), Bite Back and Four Paws.

The group is demanding that Morgan be transferred to Deltapark Neeltje Jans in The Netherlands as soon as feasible. At the Deltapark Neeltje Jans, Morgan will have a larger and more natural facility to complete her rehabilitation under constant supervision.

Mr. Wijngaarden, a practicing lawyer in Amsterdam, will represent Morgan for her eventual release back into the wild.

Last year, 40 independent orca experts from around the world were very optimistic about Morgan's rehabilitation, and presented a workable plan to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation in the Netherlands.

The ministry decided to ignore the 40 experts with the Free Morgan Group, and go with the recommendation from a panel of seven experts who said Morgan should be kept in captivity. Where would she be kept? At the Harderwijk Dolfinarium, where she makes a pretty profit, of course.

The Orca Coalition questions the experts' opinion, claiming they were not independent and received advice from an orca trainer, a SeaWorld veterinarian, a seabird expert, and an unknown supporter of the Harderwijk Dolfinarium — clearly a conflict of interest.

The Orca Coalition is also legally insisting that the plan created by the Free Morgan Group is considered and to investigate the, "validity of the Dolphinarium's report that would doom Morgan to a life in captivity."

The scientists at the Free Morgan group have expertise in both wild orca and the release of ocean mammals into the wild after life in captivity.

The Orca Coalition wants all relevant information concerning Morgan, which is currently being withheld, to be released from the Harderwijk Dolfinarium.

Legal proceedings have already started.