After the abandonment of the Beauval sanctuary project, the future of Marineland’s dolphins remains uncertain. The association C’est Assez! is asking the government to study their transfer to a marine refuge in Taranto, Italy.
The abandonment of the Beauval project reshuffles the cards for Marineland’s dolphins. Announced on August 25 by Rodolphe Delord, general director of ZooParc de Beauval, the decision leaves the cetaceans without an accommodation solution in France.
The project was supposed to accommodate some of the dolphins affected by the closure of Marineland Antibes. Eight of the twelve dolphins on the Côte d’Azur have already moved to Spain, to Selwo Marina, in July. Four females are still at Marineland.
The Beauval project was also intended to concern animals from Planète Sauvage. Planned on two and a half hectares, the site was to include ten pools and three lagoons. The cost of the project ultimately increased from 25 to 30 million euros initially envisaged to 45 million euros. A feasibility study had already cost 1.5 million euros.
Rodolphe Delord, general director of ZooParc de Beauval, explained to AFP that “the legal and financial uncertainties that currently weigh on the project do not allow us to carry it out under acceptable conditions.”
C’est Assez! asks the government to prioritize Taranto
In this context, the association C’est Assez! is reviving another option. A petition addressed to Monique Barbut, Minister of Ecological Transition, to Sébastien Lecornu, Prime Minister, and to Mathieu Lefèvre, minister delegate to the Minister of Ecological Transition, requests to allow the transfer of the four dolphins still present at Marineland to the San Paolo Dolphin Refuge in Taranto.
The association presents this facility as an alternative to captivity. The refuge, developed by Jonian Dolphin Conservation, now has the official authorizations necessary for its operation. According to C’est Assez!, seven hectares of marine area are planned to allow dolphins to evolve in a wider marine environment.
The petition also asks the government not to authorize new transfers to a captive facility and to keep the animals with their caregivers while awaiting a solution.
C’est Assez! also recalls that the Taranto refuge had already been studied as part of the discussions regarding the future of Marineland’s cetaceans. The association states that veterinarians mandated by the ministry had issued a favorable opinion on the reception of dolphins in this facility.
The EAAM denounces the lack of alternatives after Beauval
The debate now goes beyond the Marineland case alone. The European Association for Aquatic Mammals (EAAM) believes that the abandonment of Beauval demonstrates the limits of alternatives currently offered to zoological facilities. The organization advocates care based on “science, animal welfare assessments, veterinary expertise and practical realities on the ground.”
The EAAM notably cites the Oceanogràfic in Valencia, which participated in the care of two belugas and four dolphins from a closed Canadian facility.
Two positions thus face each other. C’est Assez! is asking the government to make Taranto a priority for Marineland’s dolphins. The EAAM, for its part, believes that zoological institutions already have the skills and infrastructure necessary to care for cetaceans from closed facilities.
For the four females still present in Antibes, a new question now arises: what solution will be chosen after the disappearance of the Beauval project?
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