Arfin, In 2021, the French government passed an incredible law to protect whales, dolphins, and porpoises — by banning facilities from locking these animals in captivity. This was a huge step forward for these marine mammals' well-being.
However, some old marine amusement park facilities still haven't sent their captive cetaceans to sanctuaries. That is the case for mother-and-son pair Wikie and Keijo, killer whales stranded in a closed park in southeastern France.
These Icelandic orcas were born in captivity, bred to become 'circus'-type entertainment for humans. They have spent decades in these same pools, mostly performing for large, screaming audiences. Then, Marineland Antibes closed in January 2025. But Wikie and Keijo still linger in captivity, as do 12 bottlenose dolphins. The facility and its pools are slowly falling apart now that it no longer has revenue.
And the animals are suffering. Born to swim huge distances with social communities across a wide open ocean, they are trapped in quiet, tiny, barren enclosures. Reports state that the killer whales simply "log" or float when staff aren't present, languishing.
Experts say that one of the reasons the orcas are still trapped in the deteriorating, closed park is because various organizations can't agree on an appropriate sanctuary solution. This is yet more proof that these animals should never have been held captive in the first place — we forced them into lives of servitude, and now we're going in circles trying to figure out how to undo the mess we created.
Time is of the essence here. Demand that the French government hire independent experts in cetacean conservation to create and implement a plan to send these animals to a reputable sanctuary! Sign the petition! |
