Marineland Antibes Marineland Antibes News

BlobfishBoy said:
Bad news: the December 5th hearing has taken place and it’s been decided the whales must stay in France until an “expert assessment” has been done, regardless of whether Marineland is closed or not.

Regardless of the opinion of groups like One Voice, there are no sanctuaries and Marineland’s infrastructure and water quality is failing. Forcing the whales to stay at this point is in blatant disregard for their welfare. For how long will this go on? At this point these whales just need to get out ASAP. Hopefully they don’t end up like Moana or Inouk (who may still be alive if previous transfers were not blocked).

One Voice on Instagram: "La cour d’appel d’Aix-en-Provence vient de rendre sa décision : Wikie et Keijo doivent rester sur place jusqu’à la fin de l’expertise, fermeture de Marineland ou pas. #SauvonsNosOrques #StopDelphinarium"
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Seeing videos and images, the water feels very murky. I do think that experts should help with the filtration system and experts of cetaceans should also do daily checks to regulate the health of the animals. The important thing it's to help the actual habitat of orcas, instead of debating were the orcas should be sent. I agree that the situation is dire, but we have to think that they're going to spend a lot of time in that tank, and we should try to make better their life.
 
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Xavier GM said:
Seeing videos and images, the water feels very murky. I do think that experts should help with the filtration system and experts of cetaceans should also do daily checks to regulate the health of the animals. The important thing it's to help the actual habitat of orcas, instead of debating were the orcas should be sent. I agree that the situation is dire, but we have to think that they're going to spend a lot of time in that tank, and we should try to make better their life.
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I agree that things should be improved but to me, it seems unrealistic that it will happen. It didn't happen when Moana or Inouk died so I'm doubtful it will happen now. Who will pay for these upgrades anyways? The park is in a financial crisis and I'm unsure if the government will pony up the money to upgrade the facility (which could be seen as a waste if the animals are to be moved at some point).
 
BlobfishBoy said:
I agree that things should be improved but to me, it seems unrealistic that it will happen. It didn't happen when Moana or Inouk died so I'm doubtful it will happen now. Who will pay for these upgrades anyways? The park is in a financial crisis and I'm unsure if the government will pony up the money to upgrade the facility (which could be seen as a waste if the animals are to be moved at some point).
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While I see your point of view, this is perfect timing for animal protesters to raise money for this kind of situation, but I highly doubt they will move a finger since the animals won't go to a sanctuary. Tbh I don't think the care about how they can improve the animal life if it's not by getting them out of a zoo/aquarium. Even then, I don't think we should talk more of the topic in the news thread, to let it maintain it's original purpose. We could move it to a different thread if someone is interested to keep talking about the topic:).
 
Xavier GM said:
Seeing videos and images, the water feels very murky. I do think that experts should help with the filtration system and experts of cetaceans should also do daily checks to regulate the health of the animals. The important thing it's to help the actual habitat of orcas, instead of debating were the orcas should be sent. I agree that the situation is dire, but we have to think that they're going to spend a lot of time in that tank, and we should try to make better their life.
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It’s been like this for years and years and unfortunately has resulted in bad health of their orcas. I recall reading John Hargrove’s autobiography and he actually left Antibes all the way twenty years ago due to their reluctance to upgrade the facilities and improve the water quality. So it’s been something that’s been going on for a long time and as such, it’s quite unlikely there will be any change.

Keeping them at Antibes is a disaster waiting to happen!
 
I assume with the imminent closure of Antibes this leaves Loro Parque the only collection in Europe with orca outside Russia.
 
dillotest0 said:
I assume with the imminent closure of Antibes this leaves Loro Parque the only collection in Europe with orca outside Russia.
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Indeed it does. Outside of Loro Parque, there will now only mainly be orcas in the USA, China and Japan with the other two facilities (Mundo Marino in Argentina, and Moskvarium in Russia) holding a single orca each.
 
Marineland Antibes: Fate of orcas left uncertain after zoo shuts mentions the uncertain fate of 2 orcas, Wilkie and Keijo, after Marineland's closure today after new animal welfare laws, banning the use of whales in marine zoo shows from 2026, Marineland's managers said shows featuring whales attract 90% of Marineland's visitor, so the business isn't viable without whale shows.
The French government has blocked a proposal to rehome them in Japan, as the 13,000km journey would cause stress. Campaigners fear Wikie and Keijo would be made to perform in Loro Parque, Tenerife, where there have been several orca deaths in the last few years. The charity World Animal Protection (Wap) wants the orcas moved to a sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia. Hanne Strager said the proposed sanctuary might feel as alien to Wikie and Keijo as open ocean would. Most experts agree that releasing the Icelandic orcas into the wild would not be suitable as both were born in captivity and would not have the skills to survive. Strager said that orcas are highly social and that Wikie and Keijo have established social bonds with their trainers.
 
Just some points I would like to share:

  1. At the present moment (Jan 2025) there is no orca sanctuary functioning and with capacity to receive this whales.
  2. All the proposed sanctuaries fail in important aspects. (Example: proposed sanctuary in Nova Scotia has waters contaminated with mercury, see preliminary analysis conducted)
  3. The beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland Is not an example to follow the belugas are in smaller habitats then they were in china (not implying the conditions there were good) and so far they cannot acclimate to the bay.
  4. Marineland closed down due to financial reasons not because of the law (see press release). They always had in mind to follow the law. They carried out important scientific research that helped us understand better cetaceans in the wild.
  5. Blocking the transfer is sentencing the animals to death. As the park looses the revenue source the conditions will tend to deteriorate.
  6. Marineland was part of EAAM, EAZA and certified by the American Humane. EAAM and EAZA have strict standards that must be followed in order to be a member.
  7. It is for the good welfare of the whales to stay in an European zoo and member of EAAM/EAZA since, as referred above, they have the highest standards of welfare for marine mammals.
Finally we need to consider what is natural for this whales is not the ocean but the habitat they grew in, in this case under human care.

I think we can all agree we all want the best for the animals, therefore euthanasia should not even be considered an option if a suitable transfer is able to be carried out.
 
Portuguese Tursiops said:
Just some points I would like to share:

  1. At the present moment (Jan 2025) there is no orca sanctuary functioning and with capacity to receive this whales.
  2. All the proposed sanctuaries fail in important aspects. (Example: proposed sanctuary in Nova Scotia has waters contaminated with mercury, see preliminary analysis conducted)
  3. The beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland Is not an example to follow the belugas are in smaller habitats then they were in china (not implying the conditions there were good) and so far they cannot acclimate to the bay.
  4. Marineland closed down due to financial reasons not because of the law (see press release). They always had in mind to follow the law. They carried out important scientific research that helped us understand better cetaceans in the wild.
  5. Blocking the transfer is sentencing the animals to death. As the park looses the revenue source the conditions will tend to deteriorate.
  6. Marineland was part of EAAM, EAZA and certified by the American Humane. EAAM and EAZA have strict standards that must be followed in order to be a member.
  7. It is for the good welfare of the whales to stay in an European zoo and member of EAAM/EAZA since, as referred above, they have the highest standards of welfare for marine mammals.
Finally we need to consider what is natural for this whales is not the ocean but the habitat they grew in, in this case under human care.

I think we can all agree we all want the best for the animals, therefore euthanasia should not even be considered an option if a suitable transfer is able to be carried out.
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All solid points.

The lack of a suitable sanctuary is the biggest contributing factor here. And the time it would take to construct one wouldn't be sustainable as the whales need to leave asap. Not to mention gathering the resources/funds for such a venture which is almost impossible. Going back to Keiko, his sanctuary was only funded due to the huge public support following the success of Free Willy.

Both these whales have also been born and raised in captivity. Unlike Keiko who was born in the ocean, these two have never been in it. It's unknown how they will respond to such a drastic change and despite being quite adaptable species, there's a fair chance they won't respond well. That's not to say it wouldn't be worth trying but throwing into the ocean and hoping for the best isn't probably the best case in this scenario.

Obviously the only real solution here is to transfer them across to Loro Parque. They have the space and the expertise and are a member of the EAZA. The trip across to Tenerife would also be quite easy and very do-able.
 
Jambo said:
The lack of a suitable sanctuary is the biggest contributing factor here. And the time it would take to construct one wouldn't be sustainable as the whales need to leave asap. Not to mention gathering the resources/funds for such a venture which is almost impossible. Going back to Keiko, his sanctuary was only funded due to the huge public support following the success of Free Willy.
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And from what I recall with Keiko within a few years the funding for the sanctuary ran out and it went to a new administration with a thinner budget. IIRC it was the Humane Society.
They had a thinner budget to work with and not as many resources to put towards Keiko. Where Keiko was originally being trained to live wild, the Humane Society's approach was to almost 'disown' him. This turned out to be disastrous...Keiko was too fond of his human carers. And when he couldn't find them, he swam all the way to a coastal town in Norway!
And from what we know, Keiko was likely starved at time of death. It's possible that in his last years most of what he ate was fed to him by people; he was not often hunting on his own accord. He had an autopsy following his death; which found no evidence of food remains in the stomach.
 
dillotest0 said:
And from what I recall with Keiko within a few years the funding for the sanctuary ran out and it went to a new administration with a thinner budget. IIRC it was the Humane Society.
They had a thinner budget to work with and not as many resources to put towards Keiko. Where Keiko was originally being trained to live wild, the Humane Society's approach was to almost 'disown' him. This turned out to be disastrous...Keiko was too fond of his human carers. And when he couldn't find them, he swam all the way to a coastal town in Norway!
And from what we know, Keiko was likely starved at time of death. It's possible that in his last years most of what he ate was fed to him by people; he was not often hunting on his own accord. He had an autopsy following his death; which found no evidence of food remains in the stomach.
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It was really sad to here about. And a lot of the 'experienced' people, such as former trainers, marine biologists ect. who were initially involved in the project had to step away due to the financial constraints the project encountered. This likely would've played a huge part into the way he was trained and it being changed. He was effectively left to fend for himself; and so by all accounts by those who knew him best, he did indeed leave to find companionship. Apparently there were also many who refused to follow the procedure, and secretly interacted with him which perhaps defeated the purpose of the whole idea but also possibly contributed to him surviving longer than he would've without almost complete isolation at that point in time.

It's also been consistently mentioned that there's no solid evidence of Keiko ever being able to hunt. During his journey across to Norway, his swimming patterns at time did seem to reflect hunting but it was wondered whether instead this was him following/interacting with other orcas who were hunting themselves.

Management of the project tried their absolute hardest to prevent all contact with Keiko in that town in Norway but they couldn't get any specific legislation put into place to prevent this from occurring. So whilst the general consensus was to not interact nor feed Keiko, a lot of boaters still did. Some even began to charge people to come out and see Keiko. None of this certainly helped his attempts to be 're-wilded' but then again, it's probably unlikely he would've been able to make the change successfully anyhow and would've maybe meant his demise sooner...
 
Sorry, if I overlooked if this question has already been answered somewhere, but does anybody know where all the animals went? Especialy the macaroni penguins.

People always just delete the entries on zootierliste as if the animals would suddenly disappear from the collections, making it always so unnnecessarily hard to track where the animals went.
 
13 Humboldt penguins have gone to Jurques (France) and 10 to Amiens (France), 10 western rockhopper penguins have gone to Pairi Daiza (Belgium).
2 otaries and 2 seals were transferred to Madrid (Spain) but, according to some sources, were then sent to China.
I don't know about the others.
 
 
I do hope that this will be something the campaigners don’t forget about.
The people most against cetacean captivity banded together to pressure a government to stop keeping cetaceans in captivity. And it worked. And they celebrated and had champagne.
And didn’t ever stop to think that - hey, the sanctuary hasn’t been built yet… what will happen to the animals? And now we are in the future… where bureaucracy has kept the animals at a stalemate, and the campaigners don’t want anything other than a sanctuary which is always 5 years from now.
And I’m saying this as someone who’s not totally in love with the idea of cetaceans in captivity, the way things currently are … but I hope that campaigners remember… when you delegalise the keeping of a particular type of animal… you don’t get the Hollywood conclusion of it jumping over the rock wall and into freedom. Unless the sanctuary has been built..
 
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