Whale Sanctuary Project reiterates offer to bring Wikie & Keijo to sanctuary in Nova Scotia
At the end of last week, the Spanish government rejected what appeared to be a firm plan to transfer orcas Wikie and Keijo from Marineland Antibes to Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands.
Marineland Antibes, which closed its entertainment park in January, had been preparing to transfer Wikie and Keijo to the Spanish zoo this week. Following this announcement, however, French Minister of Ecology Agnès Pannier-Runacher ordered Marineland to care for the animals at its facility in France until another solution can be found.
The Whale Sanctuary Project is making it clear again to all parties that we are ready to work with the French government, with Marineland Antibes, and with any and all other organizations to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we are preparing in Nova Scotia.
Last September, in its formal recommendations to the French government, the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Ecology called the Whale Sanctuary Project the best sanctuary solution for Wikie and Keijo.
It remains the only viable solution. And we remain ready to work with the French government and with Marineland Antibes to bring Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary.
While we press ahead to complete construction at the sanctuary site, we remain committed to collaborating with our colleagues at One Voice, with the management and caregivers at Marineland Antibes, and with other NGOs to assist in caring for Wikie and Keijo in their concrete pools.
In its 52-page report to the Department of Ecological Biodiversity, the French Inspectorate stated with respect to the Whale Sanctuary Project:
“The solidity of the team and the dossier [they filed], the fact that the project was initiated several years ago, well before the sole question of the future of the orcas at Marineland in Antibes, the medium and long-term projection, make it the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects.”
And after reviewing all the plans that were submitted, the Inspectorate concluded:
“Concerning orcas, [the Inspectorate] considers that only the Nova Scotia sanctuary project, supported by the Whale Sanctuary Project, meets the criteria of the [government’s Call for Expressions of Interest] in terms of technical quality, feasibility on time and financial sustainability, even if the project is experimental in nature and carries an inherent share of risk.”
The decision of the Spanish government to reject Marineland’s plan to send Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque zoo is late in coming. But it is the right decision. And it brings ever greater urgency for all of us – government, marine parks, nonprofit organizations, and benefactors – to work together to give these highly intelligent, social and emotionally sensitive beings the immediate care they need and then to retire them to sanctuary as soon as possible.