WDCS wins landmark victory in fight against dolphin captivity

Access to all information about how captive dolphins are cared for

June 2011: WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has achieved a significant legal victory in its ongoing campaign against captivity after a German court granted it access to all information relating to the display and husbandry of captive dolphins at the Nuremberg Zoo.

UNNATURAL HABITAT: Two of the dolphins in Nuremburg Zoo

The Munich Court appeal ruling, the first of its kind to be passed within a Member State of the EU, confirmed an earlier decision by the Administrative Court in 2009 which the city of Nuremberg (responsible for the zoo) then appealed against, and is a ruling that could have a major impact throughout Europe.

Representatives at the zoo had argued that the public had no right to access such information because keeping dolphins in captivity has no impact on dolphins in the wild.

Wild dolphins captured for use in zoos
However, WDCS presented facts countering the city of Nuremberg's argument that demonstrated how keeping dolphins in captivity does relate to the conservation of the species in the wild because, the continued removal of wild dolphins for use in zoos impacts wild populations and, that encouraging acts such as feeding and touching dolphins in these facilities could harm both dolphins and people should tourists try to replicate this unnatural behaviour when near these animals in their natural habitat.

‘The court's decision rested on the question of whether the Environmental Information Act applies to the display of dolphins in captivity or not and the verdict clearly supports the opinion of the WDCS,' says Dr Karsten Brensing, conservation manager at WDCS. ‘This verdict is a milestone. It opens the door for independent scientific evaluations of data relating to dolphins in captivity and relating questions such as the status of the captive breeding programme.

Environmental protection should not stop at zoos' doorsteps
‘It has been extremely disappointing that, so far, dolphinaria refused any kind of independent and transparent evaluations, which has lead to a very unclear picture about issues such as the number of miscarriages and still births.

‘This judgment is a landmark decision which represents a victory for transparency over such institutions for the public and shows clearly that environmental protection doesn't stop at the doorstep of zoos,' says lawyer Inga Berg, Mannheim, representing WDCS. ‘I am really happy about this decision.'

The court ruling may well have far reaching implications for Nuremberg Zoo as it is shortly to open a new €24million lagoon for the captive dolphin display. The investment has been signed off by the City Council without any independent review of the data relating to previous dolphinarium practices.