Marineland Antibes to close, but what’s next for the animals?

While we welcome the announcement that Marineland Antibes will close on January 5, 2025, we are concerned about the future of the animals currently in the facility’s care, including orcas Wikie and Keijo.

We are urging Marineland and the French authorities to conduct independent and transparent health assessments for all the captive animals to help guide responsible and humane decisions about their future.

For the orcas at Marineland, the best possible outcome is a transfer to a seaside sanctuary where they can live out their lives in a more natural environment – where their welfare is prioritized, and they are able to express their natural behaviours without being forced to perform or breed.

The Whale Sanctuary Project, based in Nova Scotia, offers an innovative solution to this challenge. The French General Inspectorate of the Environment and Sustainable Development themselves call it “the most credible innovative solution among the sanctuary projects”. This sanctuary represents a lifeline for these orcas, providing them with a spacious and enriched environment.

"We urge France to do what they can to facilitate the transfer of these two orcas to the seaside sanctuary being established in Canada. This is the only way to ensure Wikie and Keijo have a life worth living," Melissa Matlow, Canadian Campaign Director, World Animal Protection. "And with more than 3,600 whales and dolphins suffering in small barren tanks and sea pens in aquaria and entertainment parks around the world, including more than 30 beluga whales estimated to be at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada, Governments and the tourism industry must do their part in making this the last generation of cetaceans that have to suffer in captivity."

Globally, we continue to call for an end to the breeding and capture of cetaceans for entertainment. Canada has already taken the progressive step of banning cetacean captivity and we urge other nations to follow suit.

"It is impossible to provide orcas, highly sentient and intelligent animals, with a full life by keeping them in concrete tanks as done by captive facilities worldwide. Facilities that use them for entertainment and breeding are responsible for a further generation of orcas suffering in captivity. Governments worldwide need to enable sanctuary solutions that can provide best possible care to the victims of this industry, while phasing it out eventually."

– Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, Director of Wildlife and Veterinary Expertise, World Animal Protection

Let’s make this the last generation of cetaceans to suffer in captivity. Together, we can create a future where all animals live freely and with dignity.

Banner photo: A captive orca at Marineland in Antibes, France. (Photo: GGBSPhotography / Shutterstock)