The fate of two killer whales is uncertain following the closure of the Marine Zoo on Sunday.
Campaigners and zoo managers disagree over what should happen to the orcas, and the French government has already blocked one proposal to rehome them.
Last month Marineland Antibes, located near Cannes on the French Riviera, said it would close permanently on January 5 following new animal welfare laws.
A law banning the use of dolphins and whales in shows at marine zoos was passed in 2021, but comes into effect next year.
Marineland, which describes itself as the largest of its kind in Europe, currently holds two killer whales – Wikia, 23, and her 11-year-old son Kei.
Managers say the killer whale and dolphin shows attract 90% of Marineland’s visitors – and that without them the business is not sustainable.
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, especially Icelandic orcas, into the wild would not be appropriate because they were both born in captivity and would not have the survival skills.
“It’s a bit like taking your dog out of the house and sending him into the forest to live freely as a wolf,” says Hanne Strager.
In 2023, the marine biologist published The Killer Whale Journals, which describes her decades-long interest in oceanic predators and their behavior.
“Those whales, who have spent their whole lives in captivity, have the closest relationship with humans. They are the ones who provided them with food, care, activities and social relations.
“Killer whales are very social animals, as social as we are [humans] are, and they depend on social connections. They’ve made those connections with their coaches… They depend on people and that’s the only thing they know.”
The deal to send Wikie and Keijo to a marine zoo in Japan, which was backed by Marineland managers, sparked an outcry among activists who said they would be treated worse.
Last November, the French government blocked the deal, saying animal welfare laws in Japan were lax compared to those in Europe and the 13,000 km (8,000 mile) journey would cause stress to the orcas.
Another possibility is to send them to the Spanish marine zoo in the Canary Islands.
Loro Parque, in Tenerife, complies with European animal welfare standards, but activists fear Wikie and Keijo will still be forced to perform there.
There have also been several orca deaths there in recent years.
A 29-year-old male named Keto died in November, and three other orcas died there between March 2021 and September 2022.
Loro Parque says that scientific examinations of the three orcas at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria show that the deaths were inevitable.
Katheryn Wise, from the charity World Animal Protection (Wap), told the BBC: “It would be devastating for Wikie and Keijo to end up in another entertainment venue like Loro Parque – from one whale prison to another.”
Wap wants the orcas to be rehomed in a custom ocean bay.
“[We and] many others called on the French government to do everything it could to facilitate the movement of orcas to the sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia.”
‘We will close the bay for them’
An organization hoping to build a facility in eastern Canada says it could attract funding if it receives 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 seawater with nets.
Wikie and Keijo would then be able to use the large body of water, with the human support of veterinarians and social workers, for the rest of their lives.
The average lifespan of a male killer whale is about 30 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Females usually live around 50 years.
“Life in the sanctuary will be as close as possible to what you would experience growing up in the ocean,” says the WSP. “It will be a new life that it will make up for so much that came before.”
This kind of project has already been done.
Keiko, the orca who starred in the 1993 film Free Willy, was rescued from captivity in 1996 before being washed into a bay in Iceland in 1998.
Unlike Wikia and Kei, he was born in the wild and managed to relearn some of the necessary survival skills while living in the bay for four years.
In the end, he left with a school of orcas he joined and swam to Norway where he is died in 2003 after an infection.
Strager warns that Wikie and Keijo’s proposed haven might seem as foreign as the open ocean would.
“We have this concept that animals enjoy freedom in the same sense as us, ‘they are free now and they will 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 told the BBC: “I don’t think there are any 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 Poype.
He was a decorated fighter pilot who fought during 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 targeting marine zoos that has gained momentum over the past 15 years.
Actress Pamela Anderson called for the closure of Marineland in 2017 and held a protest outside its entrance saying “captivity kills”.
In 2013, the documentary Blackfish detailed how an orca named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau after the 2010 SeaWorld Orlando exhibit.
He grabbed her and dragged her into the water where he tore off her arm and drowned her.
The film also describes how Tilikum was also involved in the death of two other people.
Researchers interviewed in the film claimed that orcas captured from the wild and trained to perform become violent in captivity.
Number of visitors i financial revenues at SeaWorld suffered after the documentary and in 2016 they suspended their captive breeding program.
They refused calls to release their remaining orcas into the wild, saying they would likely die if left to fend for themselves.
Eighteen months ago, they opened a new marine zoo in the United Arab Emirates, the first SeaWorld outside the US.
The new Abu Dhabi facility is a $1.2bn (£966m) venture with state-owned leisure developer Miral and boasts the world’s largest aquarium.
There are no orcas on display here, but, to the dismay of the fighters, there are dolphins.
Wap helped convince Expedia to no longer sell vacations that include captive dolphin shows and wants other travel companies to do the same.
“Blackfish was more than a hit – it was a phenomenon,” writes researcher Naomi Rose in a Wapa report. “I am convinced that this has pushed Western society past the tipping point on the issue of whales in captivity.”
