Dolfinarium Harderwijk

The Dolfinarium opened at Harderwijk in 1965 on the Veluwemeer and grew into the largest marine mammal park in Europe, holding bottlenose dolphins, walruses, sea lions, seals and porpoises, with shows, an underwater viewing lagoon and a rescue programme that takes in stranded harbour porpoises and seals from the Dutch coast and returns them. It is also the focus of a sustained public argument. Animal welfare organisations have campaigned against the keeping and performance of cetaceans for decades, the park has been prosecuted and fined over past incidents, several animals have been transferred abroad under contested circumstances, and Dutch policy on keeping dolphins has repeatedly been debated in parliament. The park has moved away from trained-trick shows toward presentations framed as education. Anyone deciding whether to visit should know the argument exists rather than encounter it afterwards.

History

In 1955 the businessman Frits den Herder and his brother Coen, who ran a local shipping company and playground, began collecting sea mammals; the park opened to the public in 1965, and its characteristic dome followed in 1969 (Wikipedia, Dolfinarium Harderwijk).

What you'll find

• The largest marine mammal park in Europe - dolphins, walruses, sea lions and seals.
• A rescue programme - stranded porpoises and seals taken in from the Dutch coast.
• A long welfare argument - decades of campaigning, prosecutions and parliamentary debate.
• A shift in presentation - shows reframed as education rather than tricks.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Practical notes

Keeping and displaying cetaceans is genuinely contested and the park has a record of prosecutions - that is the main thing to know before buying a ticket. Seasonal opening. Very busy in school holidays.

Nearby

Harderwijk's old town is beside it; the Veluwe forests are south.