Dutch judge blocks dolphin transfer to China
- The export of two walruses and two sea lions to the Hainan Ocean Paradise theme park was also temporarily halted after activists launched an urgent court case
- Conservation groups said the animals would be ‘some place worse than they have been before’, and would be used to entertain people for commercial purposes
A Dutch judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the transfer of eight dolphins, two walruses and two sea lions to a Chinese amusement park after animal rights activists launched an urgent court case.
Conservation groups Sea Shepherd and the local House of Animals group dragged a Dutch dolphinarium before the Amsterdam Regional Court to stop the export to the Hainan Ocean Paradise, a theme park currently under construction in southern China.
“If you decide to export these animals to China, you are not looking after their welfare” the activists said on the House of Animals website, adding they will be used to entertain people “for commercial purposes”.
This was also because of the “stress of relocation, taking them out of a familiar environment and because the animals will now be some place worse than they have been before,” the activists said.
The animal rights groups also opened a case against the Dutch government which authorised the transfer, saying it had a “duty to ensure” the welfare of the animals.