A week after the Minister of Ecological Transition’s visit to Antibes, several deputies are calling for a suspension of the transfers of orcas and dolphins from Marineland to Spain. They rely on elements deemed concerning and denounce one of the animal death traps.
On May 15, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Mathieu Lefèvre, traveled to Antibes to examine the condition of Marineland’s facilities, which has been closed since January 2025. Following this visit, the minister confirmed his support for the departure of the two remaining orcas, Wikie and Keijo, to Loro Parque in Tenerife. The transfer is announced “in the coming weeks, before the end of June”, with a stated desire to “not make the status quo a solution.” On site, the park’s CEO, Pascal Ferracci, has described for several months tanks that are “cracked” and “dilapidated” and believes that “we obviously cannot wait any longer.”
A week later, on May 22, a letter signed by several Green Party, LFI and Socialist deputies demands the immediate suspension of transfer authorizations. The elected officials recall that the conditions for holding cetaceans have deteriorated since the partial closure of the park in 2023, but that the chosen destinations would not guarantee an improvement. The letter emphasizes that “the survival rate of orcas at Loro Parque is extremely low” and mentions four deaths between 2021 and 2024. The signatories also mention attacks between orcas linked to overcrowding, described in a Sea Shepherd report published in March 2025.
The letter also dwells on the situation at Selwo Marina, where 28 dolphins have been transferred to China since 2022, nine of which to make room for animals from Antibes. The director of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali, sees it as a “true death trap”, due to Chinese regulations deemed insufficiently stringent regarding animal welfare. The facilities at the Oceanogràfic in Valencia are also criticized. According to One Voice, their age would condemn the animals to live in conditions more difficult than those of Marineland.
The OneVoice association states that “Spain has not agreed to welcome the orcas and dolphins from Marineland into its dolphinariums. A courageous decision, made despite pressure and which finally opens the way to another direction: that of sanctuaries. While France multiplies maneuvers, retreats, wavers and leaves looming the threat of new commercial projects like that of Beauval, Spain reminds us of an obvious truth: these animals do not need to be moved from one tank to another to continue being exploited. They must be protected. Removed from dolphinariums. Guided toward dignified solutions. Thank you to Spain for standing firm. Thank you to all those fighting to make sanctuaries (very soon) finally a reality. We will continue the fight, relentlessly, for the orcas and dolphins of Marineland. Against dolphinariums. Against commercial projects. For sanctuaries.”
Conditions deemed incompatible with the 2021 law?
Twelve dolphins still live in Antibes. The presented plan provides for distribution between Valencia and Malaga, before a possible transfer to Beauval Zoo, where suitable facilities must be created. Animal welfare associations contest these choices and denounce the continued keeping of cetaceans in facilities where reproduction and performances remain practiced. The parliamentary letter recalls that these directions contradict the spirit of the 2021 law, which aimed to end the exploitation of marine mammals in captivity.
The elected officials put forward other options. The creation of a marine sanctuary off the Breton coast, proposed by Sea Shepherd and supported by scientists, was rejected by the IGEDD. Semi-natural centers in Greece or Italy could also welcome the animals, even if care would not be immediate. These solutions would require a longer timeline, but would offer, according to the signatories, a real improvement in the living conditions of cetaceans.
The letter insists on the cognitive abilities and complex social needs of orcas and dolphins. It states that maintaining the current decision would amount to “increasing the amount of suffering these animals have already endured.” The deputies therefore call for a suspension of transfers to Loro Parque, Selwo Marina and the Oceanogràfic, and urge the State to favor a solution compliant with the 2021 law.
A petition that gathered nearly 125,000 signatures was also launched against the transfer of cetaceans to Spain.
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