Closure of French marine park sparks outcry over future of its two orcas

The closure of a marine zoo in the south of France has sparked intense debate over the future of its inhabitants, including two beloved orcas.

Marineland Antibes, near Cannes, closed for good on Sunday, with management citing legislation banning shows featuring cetaceans such as dolphins and whales, which the French government passed in 2021.

The law, which will come into effect in December 2026, also bans direct contact between visitors and cetaceans.

In a statement published December 4, Marineland said it was shutting its doors because 90% of visitors to the park come to watch the orca and dolphin shows.

It said it had taken the decision with “deep sadness,” and was working closely with French authorities to rehome the animals.

At present, though, it is unclear what will happen to the park’s two orcas – a 23-year-old female named Wikie and her son Keijo, 10 – as well as 12 dolphins.

Marineland initially planned to send Wikie and Keijo to a marine park in Japan. This plan met with uproar from animal rights groups, which said the move would be harmful to their wellbeing, citing the fact that Japan still practices whaling and does not have equivalent laws to European countries on the treatment of animals.

The French government then stepped in, publishing a report in which it said that the only acceptable options were to send the orcas to a new sanctuary in Nova Scotia, Canada, or to rehouse them at the Loro Parque marine park in Tenerife, which is part of the Spanish Canary Islands.

Loro Parque has housed orcas since 2006 and would offer similar conditions to Marineland, according to the government report.

But animal rights campaigners are pushing for the whales to be rehoused in the Canadian sanctuary, where they would no longer be made to perform in shows.

“Japan is not at all a good solution,” she said, adding that Loro Parque would also pose problems.

“They would continue to live in captivity, in smaller pools,” in the Spanish park, Arnal said, adding that Wikie and Keijo would probably be separated so that Wikie could reproduce, breaking the family bonds that help orcas deal with the stresses of life in captivity.

And while there is a risk in moving the orcas to a sanctuary, a plan is in place to transfer them first to a sea pen before releasing them into a 44-hectare (109-acre) area of ocean, Arnal said.

The orcas will remain at Marineland while their fate is decided, she added, with public pressure increasing.

“It’s incredible how many people are mobilizing around this,” Arnal said.