After the closure of the zoo, the fate of the killer whales remains uncertain

After the closure of a marine zoo in France on Sunday, the fate of two killer whales remains unclear.

Campaigners and zoo managers are at odds over what should happen to the killer whales, with the French government already blocking one proposal to rehome them.

Last month, Marineland Antibes, located near Cannes on the French Riviera, said it would close for good on January 5 following new animal welfare laws.

The law banning the use of dolphins and whales in marine shows at zoos was passed in 2021, but takes effect next year.

Marineland, which describes itself as the largest of its kind in Europe, currently houses two killer whales – 23-year-old Vicky and her 11-year-old son Kaijo.

Managers say the orca and dolphin shows attract 90% of Marineland’s visitors – and that without it the business is not viable.

Several destinations for the whales have been proposed, but there is disagreement about where they should go and what should happen to them.

Most experts agree that releasing two whales, specifically Icelandic killer whales, into the wild would be inappropriate, as both were born in captivity and would not have the skills to survive.

“It’s like taking your dog from home and sending him out into the woods to live like a wolf,” says Hanne Strager.

In 2023, the marine biologist published The Killer Whale Journals, detailing her decades-long interest in ocean predators and their behavior.

“Those whales that have spent their whole lives in captivity have the closest relationships with humans. They are the ones who provided them with food, care, activities and social relations.

“Orcas are very social animals, as social as we (humans) are, and they depend on social connections. They’ve made these connections with their trainers… They depend on people, and that’s the only thing they know.”

A deal to send Vicky and Keijo to a marine zoo in Japan, backed by Marineland managers, sparked an outcry among campaigners who said they would be treated worse.

Last November, the French government blocked the deal, saying Japan’s animal welfare laws were laxer than those in Europe and that the 13,000 km (8,000 mile) journey would stress the orcas.

Another option is to send them to a Spanish marine zoo in the Canary Islands.

Tenerife’s Loro Parque meets European animal welfare standards, but campaigners fear Wikie and Keijo will be forced to perform there anyway.

Over the past few years, several skunks have also died there.

A 29-year-old male named Keta died in November, and three more orcas died between March 2021 and September 2022.

Loro Parque says a scientific examination of the three killer whales by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria shows that death was unavoidable.

Catherine Wise of the charity World Animal Protection (Wap) tells the BBC: “It would be devastating for Vicky and Keijo to end up in another entertainment venue like Loro Parque – from one whale prison to another.”

Wap wants the killer whales to be relocated to an adapted ocean bay.

“(We and) many others have called on the French government to do everything possible to facilitate the movement of killer whales to a reserve off the coast of Nova Scotia.”

The organization, which hopes to build a facility in eastern Canada, says it will be able to raise funding if it gets a commitment from the French government to send two whales there.

The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) proposes to enclose a 40-hectare (98-acre) area of ​​marine water with nets.

Vicki and Kaijo were then able to enjoy the large expanse of water with the support of vets and social workers for the rest of their lives.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average lifespan of a male killer whale is about 30 years. Females usually live about 50 years.

“Life in the reserve will be as close as possible to what they experienced growing up in the ocean,” says the WSP. “It will be a new life makes up for a lot of what came before.’

Such projects have been done before.

Keiko, the killer whale who starred in the 1993 film Free Willy, was rescued from captivity in 1996 and released to a bay in Iceland in 1998.

Unlike Vicki and Keijo, he was born in the wild and was able to relearn some essential survival skills after living in the bay for four years.

Eventually he left with a pod of killer whales he joined and swam to Norway, where he died in 2003 from an infection.

Strager warns that the proposed sanctuary may seem as foreign to Vicky and Keijo as the open ocean.

“We have this concept that animals enjoy freedom in the same sense that we do, ‘now they’re free and they’re going to like it.’

“We don’t know if they see freedom the same way… Will they be afraid because it’s so different from what they’re used to? I don’t know.”

She tells the BBC: “I don’t think there are good solutions for animals that have been kept in captivity all their lives.”

More than 4,000 animals will be relocated from Marineland, which was founded in 1970 by Count Roland de la Poipe.

He was an award-winning fighter pilot who fought in World War II before establishing himself in the plastics industry and opening Marineland because of his interest in marine life.

The closure of his passion project is the latest step in a campaign aimed at marine zoos that has gained momentum over the past 15 years.

Actress Pamela Anderson called for Marineland to be closed in 2017 and staged a protest outside its entrance, saying “captivity kills”.

In 2013, the documentary Blackfish detailed how an orca named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau after a show at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010.

He grabbed her and dragged her into the water, where he tore off her hand and drowned her.

The film also details how Tilikum was involved in the deaths of two other people.

Researchers interviewed in the film claim that killer whales captured in the wild and trained to perform become violent in captivity.

Number of visitors and financial income at SeaWorld suffered after the documentary and in 2016 they suspended their captive breeding program.

They rejected calls to release the remaining killer whales into the wild, saying they would likely die if left to their own devices.

Eighteen months ago, they opened a new marine zoo in the United Arab Emirates, the first SeaWorld outside of the United States.

The new Abu Dhabi facility is a $1.2bn (£966m) joint venture with state-owned leisure company Miral and boasts the world’s largest aquarium.

There are no killer whales here, but there are still dolphins, much to the dismay of the campaigners.

Wap helped convince Expedia to no longer sell vacations involving captive dolphins and wants other travel companies to do the same.

“Blackfish was more than a hit – it was a phenomenon,” writes scientist Naomi Rose in a Wap report. “I am convinced that this has pushed Western society to a tipping point on the issue of cetaceans in captivity.”