French Ministers to Vote on Orcas’ Fate

PARIS (04-14) – A pop-up protest by French human rights, animal rights, and environmental law activists, One Voice France Association for the Defense for Animals, whose motto proclaims, “Je Suis La Voix des Animaux” (I am the voice of marine animals) took place April 13 outside the Ministry of Ecology and Biodiversity and Negotiants of Climate and Nature.

The small group of seven protesters hurriedly unfurled a banner while holding signs urging the government ministers for Ecological Transition to move the last two orcas in France, Wikie and her son Keijo, to a new, whale sanctuary when it is completed in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. Meanwhile, the orcas continue to languish in large unethically sterile and confining concrete pools they call home at the now closed and seriously deteriorating Marineland Antibes in the south of France.

The move for the pair to a more humane and natural setting is the result of legislation that calls for the discontinuation of keeping cetaceans in captivity for entertainment or breeding purposes by the end of this year.

The French Ministry of Ecological Transition is charged with the responsibility to determine the best long-term solution for their keeping in compliance with the law. They orcas also cannot be released into the wild due to their being born in captivity. The first proposal to move Wikie and Keijo to the marine amusement Loro Parque Zoo, in Tenerife, the Canary Islands, was rejected by the Spanish government in 2025.

According to the International Marine Mammal Project, “The Spanish government, based on determinations by their scientific authorities, has thus far rejected the relocation of the two orcas into Loro Parque because of it being too crowded with captive orcas, and not representing a facility that is better for the orcas than their present status.”
Marineland, however, in concert with Loro Parque and the captivity industry, is diligently working to influence and pressure the French and Spanish authorities to allow the move. The move has recently gained traction with the French government as a solution to the orcas’ present circumstances. One Voice has asserted that “euthanasia” is also being used by the French as “an argument to pressure Spain” in breaking the impasse, saying that “In this equation, animal welfare is completely overshadowed by financial interests.”
As such, One Voice has demanded that “…a concerted effort be launched at the European level to provide all cetaceans still held in captivity with a retirement sanctuary—either along our own extensive coastlines or in locations outside of Europe.”
Some of the signs held by activists reflected these concerns and Spain’s decision, saying, “Spain You refused the orcas for a good reason: the world is watching you-Spain, Orcas are a symbol against captivity, Spain refuses to take the problem that France must resolve, Let’s unite to save Wikie and Keijo, and Ministers do not cast your votes for Loro Parque.”

The proposed move to Canada in the yet to be completed sanctuary would afford a new more humane home that would see the pair living in a large open, deep-water ocean setting in an enclosed bay that is considered an ideal solution which would serve their welfare in a stimulating and natural environment.

The sanctuary would also see other whales added as marine parks close and public sentiment for capturing and confining the large marine mammals for entertainment and breeding diminishes. In no small part the ethics of such inhumane operations are being called into question by the public clamoring for reform after being made aware of the situation by animal rights activists.
After assembling, the activists posed for photos and then each spoke briefly on video about the orcas’ situation, while being recorded by an organizer. The group was quickly surrounded and outnumbered by police who questioned them briefly before they hurriedly walked away. The entire protest lasting around six minutes was successful in conveying their message about the orcas to passersby on the busy Boulevard Saint Germain and those inside the ministry.
Horrifically, there are an estimated 3,000 whales presently in captivity worldwide making their future humane treatment both urgent and growing as time progresses. Fortunately, the public perception of such inhumane captivity as entertainment is waning with the resultant problem of dealing with the marine mammals as their “owners” are faced with massive costs related to their keeping.

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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