An orca rescued in the Wadden Sea 15 years ago has again given birth to a calf at a Spanish amusement park, much to the concern of animal rights campaigners.

The orca, named Morgan by her rescuers, was sent to the Dolphinarium in Harderwijk to recover. But then-junior economic affairs minister Henk Bleker, who was responsible for Morgan, decided she could not be returned to the wild and she was sent to Loro Parque in Spain instead.

The financial terms of the move have never been revealed and was heavily criticised by animal protection organisations. Their efforts to free Morgan have been ongoing since then.

In 2017 Morgan became pregnant, in contravention of the conditions of her transfer to Spain. The calf, Ula, also became part of the shows at the park and died in 2021, aged just two. Ula is one of four orcas who have died at the Parque since 2021.

The current birth is also in breach of the agreement which stipulated that Morgan should be used for education purposes and scientific research only, not for shows or as part of a breeding programme.

“The birth of a new calf should be joyous, but knowing the fate of this calf born in captivity in Loro Parque is just heartbreaking,” Tricia Croasdell, CEO of World Animal Protection, said in a response.

“Loro Parque’s decision to continue breeding orcas, despite overwhelming evidence of the suffering it causes, is deeply troubling,” she said.

Male orcas can live to an average of 30 years old in the wild and female orcas can live to 90. The orcas that died at Loro Parque lived to an average age of just 14.