A heated debate has emerged in Wallonia over keeping dolphins in captivity after the animal rights organisation GAIA claimed that the regional government intended to “re-authorise dolphinariums” through a revision of the Walloon Animal Welfare Code.
GAIA claims that allowing dolphinariums – aquariums where dolphins are kept and trained for public entertainment – would benefit zoos such as Pairi Daiza, Belgium’s largest animal park, under the guise of creating a sanctuary.
The Walloon Government issued strongly worded rebuttal rejecting GAIA's claims that it plans to reopen dolphinariums.
“A massive communication and mailing campaign was launched by GAIA and several associations early this morning announcing that the Walloon government wanted to relaunch ‘dolphinariums’. This information is completely false,” Walloon Minister-President Adrien Dolimont (MR) said to press agency Belga.
A new code of animal welfare
According to the minister, the upcoming code, which was submitted to the government on Thursday, focuses on strengthening sanctions, combating impunity, and adapting legislation to realities on the ground. “In this code, there are no changes concerning cetaceans. This issue has never been on the table and it will not be,” he clarified.
However, the government is initiating a broader reflection on reception and research centres for cetaceans. Dolimont explained that, with the ongoing closure of dolphinariums across Europe, dozens of dolphins will soon require new facilities. “Wallonia, in terms of infrastructure and research expertise, has a duty to consider the role it could play within the European scientific framework,” he said.
Benefiting Pairi Daiza?
For its part, GAIA insists that the government initially planned a derogation that could have allowed dolphinariums to reopen but removed it at the last minute.
In a press release published on its website, the association called the decision a “U-turn” by the minister, while denouncing any move that might benefit private interests at the expense of animal welfare. GAIA stresses that dolphins are sensitive, highly social mammals that cannot thrive in concrete pools, and warns against labelling any zoo enclosure as a sanctuary.
GAIA had warned that the purported measure could benefit Pairi Daiza under the guise of creating a sanctuary. “A concrete pool in a zoo does not become a sanctuary simply by being renamed. A true sanctuary is located at sea, in a protected natural environment, and aims to provide already captive dolphins with living conditions as close as possible to their natural habitat," the organisation said.
Pairi Daiza founder and CEO Eric Domb pictured during a press conference on the occasion of the preview opening of Edenya, the world's largest tropical greenhouse at the Pairi Daiza animal park, in Brugelette, on Friday 06 February 2026. Credit: Belga Image/ Virginie Lefour
Pairi Daiza hits back
Pairi Daiza, meanwhile, has denied any intention of opening a dolphinarium – but the zoo claims it does want to offer a solution for dolphins which have been moved out of dolphinariums, since more and more European dolphinariums are closing.
"We are hearing a clear call from international organisations responsible for the conservation of marine mammals," it said.
According to the park, dozens of cetaceans currently live in dolphinariums that will close, but for which no rehabilitative solution exists. "For them, whether born or kept for a long time under human care, a return to the natural environment is impossible: their chances of survival would be seriously compromised, due to factors including immunological and behavioural factors."
Pairi Daiza therefore welcomes the revision of the Walloon Animal Welfare Code, "because it will allow for the evaluation of real solutions, rather than perpetuating illusions."
According to Pairi Daiza, few options remain: either the animals are moved to other dolphinariums around the world where they will participate in shows, they are euthanised, or they go to a sanctuary where they can live in the best possible conditions, without being exploited for shows. "We want to cooperate in this third way," said the zoo.
