For OneVoice, for sure, “Marineland plans to send its killer whales to a dolphinarium in Japan” during its next annual closure. After having “exploited Inouk, Moana, Wikie and Keijo all their lives”, the park would transfer them to the land of the rising sun “at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024”, assures the association in a press release. Contacted by 20 minutes, the Antibes management “confirms nothing” and “denies nothing”. On the other hand, she acknowledges “studying several possibilities of relocation”.
She might have to soon anyway. The law of November 30, 2021 “aimed at combating animal abuse and strengthening the bond between animals and humans” will prohibit the captivity of cetaceans within a few years, except in certain very specific cases including scientific programs. Marineland is therefore studying “the best options that would ensure their well-being and their health in the long term”.
A protocol to place them in a sanctuary
For One Voice, another park, in Japan, would obviously not be the solution. The NGO calls for “the abandonment of this cynical project and the placement of the four orcas in a sanctuary where they can finally know something other than captivity”.
She even claims to have “developed a protocol”, in partnership with the whale sanctuary project American, to prepare them for this new life. “In six months, the orcas of Marineland could regain their muscle mass lost through inactivity and learn to eat at will, without being asked to entertain the gallery to be entitled to food”, assures One Voice .
” Who will pay ? »
In 2020 the former Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili had herself mentioned the track of these “sanctuaries”. ” Who will pay ? “, had then reacted Pascal Picot, the general manager of Marineland. For the moment, he has not received an answer and One Voice fears that “the state is abandoning the orcas”.
“So this is how the government intends to keep its promise to end their captivity by 2030? By letting French parks get rid of them abroad, where they will continue to be exploited until their last breath, rather than seeking to place them in sanctuaries as he had promised? she wonders. The law provides that the ban on keeping cetaceans comes into force at the end of 2026.