On Monday, February 16th, the French government will be convening a meeting to discuss the future care of the two orcas and the nine dolphins at Marineland Antibes in the South of France, which closed its doors in January 2025.
The meeting will be hosted by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Matthieu Lefèvre, and will include the Whale Sanctuary Project, the owners of Marineland Antibes, members of Parliament and of the Ministry, the European Association for Aquatic Animals, and several French non-profit organizations.
Regarding the two orcas, Wikie and Keijo, the government is looking to build a consensus around its stated intention for them to be retired to the sanctuary that we are establishing in Nova Scotia. In its statement on December 13th, the government wrote:
“The park’s two orcas are destined to join the Whale Sanctuary Project, a marine sanctuary for cetaceans in Nova Scotia, Canada. As a reminder, the Spanish scientific authority has already refused to transfer the orcas to the Loro Parque de Tenerife in Spain, and moreover it would not be understandable for these animals to be exploited for spectacle purposes. The sanctuary’s solution is therefore today the most credible, the most ethical and the only one that complies with the requirements of animal safety and welfare. The transfer could take place in the summer of 2026.”
We understand that the owners of Marineland have not yet agreed to the orcas coming to Nova Scotia and have still been pressing for them to go to Loro Parque. So, the meeting in Paris is a critical next step in the process of retiring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary.
The Minister intends to introduce us to our counterparts at Marineland. And we look forward to forging the kind of relationship that will work to the benefit of the whales. Wikie and Keijo have close bonds with their caregivers, and a close collaboration between our two teams will be essential to their future wellbeing.
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