Marine Park in the French Riviera is closed on the French Riviera due to a ban on marine mammals, France is struggling to find a new home for orcas and sons.
Founded in Antibes City in 1970, Marineland dropped in attendance in January and banned Orca and Dolphin performances from December 2026 in 2021.
Under pressure from animal rights activists, the government has been trying to find the new home of two orcas in the park, Wiki, 24, and her 11-year-old son Keijo.
In February, the park’s management filed a request to urgently transfer the two orcas (also known as killer whales) and to two parks in Spain when the contract signed by employees ran out in mid-April.
Management said finding a solution is now a “extreme urgency”.
But animal welfare groups that have insisted on suffering adversity at French marine zoos for years say conditions in such animals in Spain will be worse.
Activists believe that this transfer will violate the spirit of the 2021 law and call for the creation of shelters for more freedom in living.
French Ecology Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said she has been working with her Spanish, Italian and Greek counterparts to solve the problem but couldn’t find a solution right away.
In mid-March, the minister suggested that Wikie and Keijo temporarily move to Spain until a better option was found.
– Untreated infections –
Two French court-appointed experts released a report on the living conditions of Marineland Orcas this week after a prolonged legal battle in Animal Rights Group One Voice.
Before the performance ban, there was a voice asking for such an assessment in 2019, and the court requested the report in 2023.
Experts concluded in a report released Tuesday that the park’s water and infrastructure meet standards and that the programs provide useful distractions and stimulation for the mental health of captive animals.
But this also points to the health of captive animals.
In 2023, an orca named Moana died of infection, while another 23-year-old Inouk’s Orca died last year after ingesting a small metal spring.
According to the report, Moana took antibiotics for 107 days, corticosteroids for 31 days, painkillers for 36 days and antifungal agents for 21 days in the eight months before his death.
Nonetheless, autopsy of two orcas showed severe untreated infection.
– “Shameful Transfer” –
When animal welfare laws were adopted, then Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Berangere Abba, said the government would be on site to find new homes for retired dolphins and orcas.
Pannier-Runacher’s office told AFP, but few respond to the idea of the government’s call.
By 2024, her office finally received five shelter proposals, but there was no immediate solution to operate.
French sea shepherds opposed the move of orcas to Spain, even temporary proposals.
“Once the animals move to Spain, France will no longer have any control over its own destiny,” the Conservation Group said in an open letter to the minister who collected more than 90,000 signatures.
The group offered to pay €5 million ($5.5 million) to keep the orca in the antibody until the shelter is ready.
Marineland declined to comment on the proposal.
“We will do everything we can to prevent these shameful transfers,” Sea Shepherd France said.
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