Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Orca battle to go on after setback

By Peter de Graaf
Northern Advocate·
1 May, 2014 11:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Northland-based Ingrid Visser says she is determined to see Morgan, above, set free. Photo / Ingrid Visser

Northland-based Ingrid Visser says she is determined to see Morgan, above, set free. Photo / Ingrid Visser

Northland marine mammal expert Ingrid Visser says she will keep fighting to free a young orca from theme park captivity despite losing a legal battle in the Netherlands' highest court.

Dr Visser has been campaigning since 2010 to have a female orca named Morgan returned to the wild. The orca was originally rescued in the North Sea and brought to a Dutch dolphin centre to recover. It was later transferred to Loro Parque, a theme park in Spain's Canary Islands.

Dr Visser, along with groups such as the Orca Coalition and the Free Morgan Foundation, maintains the transfer was illegal and that Morgan is suffering from confinement in a small tank and attacks by larger orca. She has collected evidence of damage to the orca's teeth and jaws as well as innumerable ''rake marks'' left by other orca.

After a see-saw series of legal victories and losses the case reached the Netherlands' highest court of appeal, the Raad Van State, late last year. Its judgment, upholding an earlier decision that Morgan's transfer was lawful, was released on April 23.

Dr Visser said she was devastated but determined to keep fighting for an end to keeping orca in captivity.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''Personally, I'm devastated that after all these years of fighting the good fight, to find that reason and science lost over money and ulterior motives. It's sad to see that non-profit organisations are bullied and overridden by corporate greed and unjust laws.''

The decision meant Morgan faced permanent captivity in a barren concrete tank. It was effectively a death sentence because captive orca lived on average 8.5 years compared to more than 50 in the wild.

The Free Morgan Foundation said in a statement that Morgan would become a poster-child for the fight against ''this barbaric and antiquated form of entertainment''. The group's long-term aim was a law ensuring no other animal in need could be turned into an animal used for profit.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Raad Van State also rejected the Foundation's Morgan Release Plan, saying it was not a realistic or satisfactory alternative to captivity at Loro Parque. Nor were the judges convinced Morgan's family group had been located, or that the orca would be able to feed itself in the wild.

They said Loro Parque was experienced in keeping orca and the fact the park engaged in commercial activities did not make it unsuitable for Morgan. As for allegations that Morgan was being mistreated, the judges said the orca's health was not a matter for the case under consideration.

Dr Visser, however, said the judges were not qualified to assess whether Morgan's release plan was feasible. They had listened to big business and ignored much of the evidence put before them. Under European law they should have taken Morgan's welfare into account.

''The system has completely failed her,'' she said.

Discover more

Northland woman loses fight for orca

14 Dec 05:00 PM

Ingrid Visser to keep fighting

20 Dec 07:55 PM

Ingrid Visser's orca freedom fight gets US boost

28 Jan 07:46 PM

Updated: Three orca whales beached

13 Dec 03:15 AM

The campaign to free Morgan would continue.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales
Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP