Amidst concerns for marine life, two orcas remain confined in an enclosure at the now-defunct Marineland Antibes in France.
Recent footage shows the orcas, stuck in their enclosure, drifting without purpose months after the park’s closure, highlighting their plight.
Efforts are underway by French officials to find a new home for these captive-born orcas. The Whale Sanctuary Project in Canada has extended an offer to house them, despite a previous rejection from the French government over ecological concerns.
Lori Marino, the President of The Whale Sanctuary Project, emphasized that their Nova Scotia site in Canada is currently “the only option left” for Wikie, aged 23, and her son Keijo, who is 11.
Nevertheless, French ecology minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher expressed hopes for relocating the orcas to a sanctuary within Europe.
Although numerous zoos worldwide have shown interest in taking in Wikie and Keijo, animal rights advocates stress the necessity for the pair to be moved to a whale sanctuary. This would provide them with more space and freedom from breeding or performance obligations.
“If you don’t even have a site, you’re years away from being a viable sanctuary,” Marino remarked, as reported by the BBC. The Whale Sanctuary Project has conducted water surveys and environmental assessments and has received a lease offer from Canada’s natural resources department.
Additionally, David Phillips of Earth Island Institute, associated with the International Marine Mammal Project, highlighted on their website: “We have been strong advocates for the past year that these two orcas should be relocated to a seaside sanctuary, which would be larger, in natural sea water, and save them from repetitive performances in concrete tanks.”
“While the French Ministry has stated a preference for a sanctuary in the EU, we believe that the whale sanctuary being developed in Nova Scotia is a very viable alternative that was previously chosen as the best option by the French Ministry’s Inspector General’s Report.
“Orcas don’t belong in concrete tanks; they belong in the ocean,” he asserted.
Phillips also commended the Spanish government for halting a proposed relocation of Wikie and Keijo to a zoo in Tenerife.
“The Spanish government deserves credit for stopping the relocation into the dangerous, unsafe tanks of Loro Parque Zoo,” Phillips concluded.
In addition to the orcas, Marineland Antibes still houses a dozen dolphins.