“Flanders bans once and for all”: the Bruges dolphinarium will close its doors by 2037

The tourist attraction, the dolphinarium of the Boudewijn Seapark aquatic animal park located in Bruges, is expected to close its doors by 2037. Six dolphins are still held in captivity.

The dolphinarium at the Boudewijn Seapark aquatic animal park in Bruges will have to close its doors by 2037, under a decision by the Flemish government, reports De Zondag on Sunday. The organization reacts by affirming that it wants the government to respect the agreements previously reached and that it will not hesitate to enforce them through legal means if necessary.

Six more dolphins in captivity

This tourist attraction in Bruges is the last place in Flanders where six dolphins are still held in captivity. “We have already decided in the past that there will be no new dolphinarium and additional measures have been taken for the Boudewijn Seapark to improve animal welfare“, declared the competent Flemish minister Ben Weyts (N-VA). A ban on reproduction and import has been introduced and operators must build an outdoor pool by 2027, also assures the minister. He has now put a definitive end to insecurity and discussions on the future of the Bruges dolphinarium.

“Ultimately, Flanders will ban dolphin captivity once and for all in 2037. This is in fact the moment when the new outdoor pool will be completely paid for. The operators will then have been able to recover their investment“, explains Mr. Weyts.

But the Boudewijn Seapark does not intend to stick to this announcement. “The agreement was that an external basin would be completed by 2027 and that a new assessment would be carried out in 2037“, reacted director Lars van den Ham. He wants the Flemish government to stick to this agreement and threatens legal repercussions. “Minister Weyts ignores the advice of his own services“, he points out.

The animal rights organization Gaia, for its part, says it is satisfied, but hopes that the animals will be able to find freedom in a nature reserve in the future, as is planned in a bay in Greece, and not in another dolphinarium.

Dolphinarium animal welfare