As members of Dolphinaria-Free Europe (DFE), Marine Connection is supporting a letter sent by the coalition to Hungary’s Minister of Agriculture to stop the owner of the Tropicarium Aquarium in Budapest from being allowed to display dolphins at their existing facility.
Being a European Union (EU) Member State, under EC Regulation 338/97, which implements CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in the EU, it is prohibited to import cetaceans for primarily commercial purposes. This is supported by the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) which prohibits the capture and trade of dolphins within the EU.
Hungary currently has a ban in place on the importation of wild-caught dolphins for display, however, the owner of the facility states that he plans to obtain dolphins from existing captive facilities in Europe.
Please add your support by contacting the Minister – details can be found here
