In 2021, the French government passed an incredible law to protect whales, dolphins, and porpoises - by
banning facilities from locking these animals in captivity. This was a huge step forward for these marine mammals' well-being.
The problem, though, is that some old marine amusement park facilities
still haven't managed to send their captive cetaceans to reputable sanctuaries. That is the case for
mother-and-son pair Wikie and Keijo, killer whales stranded in a closed park in southeastern France.
Sign the petition to demand the French government work with wildlife experts to finally send these animals to a reputable sanctuary!Both mother and son are Icelandic orcas, but they were born in captivity, bred to become 'circus'-type entertainment for humans. They have spent decades in these same pools, mostly performing for large, screaming audiences.
Marineland Antibes
closed over a year ago, in January 2025, but
Wikie and Keijo still linger in captivity, as do 12 bottlenose dolphins. The facility is slowly falling apart now that it no longer has tourist revenue, and the pools are degrading.
And the animals are suffering. Born to roam huge distances within social communities across a wide open ocean, they are still trapped in quiet, tiny, barren enclosures. Reports submitted to French courts state that the killer whales simply "log" or float when staff aren't present, languishing.
Experts say that one of the reasons the orcas are still trapped in the deteriorating, closed park is because various organizations are refusing to agree on an appropriate sanctuary solution. This is yet more proof that these animals should never have been held captive in the first place - we forced them into lives of servitude, and now we're caught in circles trying to figure out how to undo the mess we created.
Time is of the essence here.
Demand that the French government hire independent experts in cetacean conservation to create and implement a plan to send these animals to a reputable sanctuary! Sign the petition!