HALIFAX — The group behind a plan to build a coastal refuge in Nova Scotia for captive whales says its bid to provide sanctuary for two orcas from a marine park in France has been rejected by the French government.
Lori Marino, president of the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project, issued a statement Tuesday saying her group received a letter last week from the Department of Ecological Diversity saying experts had turned down the proposal to build an oceanside pen for Wikie and Keijo, the two surviving killer whales at Marineland Antibes.
"Not one member of this (expert) panel ever reached out to us to discuss any concerns they might have had," Marino's statement says. "We cannot help but question why the ministry would reject the relocation of Wikie and Keijo to a natural … sanctuary without discussing any of this panel’s concerns with us."
Wikie and Keijo are France's last two captive, performing killer whales.
Marino said the non-profit group's proposal, submitted last April, was rejected because French experts were concerned about water temperatures in Nova Scotia, saying there could be a problem if the whales did not acclimatize quickly. As well, a department director said the plan wouldn't meet the scheduling requirements of the marine park on the French Riviera, which was closed earlier this month to comply with a French law that bans performances using killer whales and dolphins.
The 2021 law says the two whales must be moved outside France by the end of this year, but the Whale Sanctuary Project has yet to start construction in a bay near the small town of Port Hilford on Nova Scotia's eastern shore.
Still, the project’s executive director, Charles Vinick, has said that a smaller version of what is planned could have been built before the deadline.
Marino said much could have been accomplished during the time it took the French government to respond to her group's bid.
"This nine-month delay in responding to our expression of interest foreclosed the option of retiring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary," said Marino, a neuroscientist and expert in animal behaviour who has studied marine mammals for 25 years.
Her statement goes on to say the fundraising needed to prepare for the whales' arrival could have been completed in time.
"We also welcomed the opportunity for some of Wikie and Keijo’s current caregivers to travel with them and to continue their caregiving work as part of our team in Nova Scotia."
Meanwhile, the French government's decision means Wikie and Keijo will likely be sent to Spain's Loro Parque zoo in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. French officials should reconsider that move because the zoo has a checkered history, Marino said.
"We have asked the French government to consider organizing a meeting with the owners of Marineland Antibes, or even Loro Parque, so that together we can all identify a solution that best serves the welfare of Wikie and Keijo," her statement says. "In the best interests of Wikie and Keijo, we urge the ministry to reconsider its decision."
The Whale Sanctuary Project also offered to cover the costs of care for Wikie and Keijo to remain in Antibes while fundraising and construction ramped up in Nova Scotia.
Marino and Vinick started looking for a place to establish North America's first coastal sanctuary for retired performing whales and dolphins in 2016. They turned their attention to Nova Scotia in 2018.
"The writing is on the wall for all of these (marine parks and aquariums) that hold cetaceans — dolphins, whales and porpoises,” Marino said at the time. “They are really going to need to phase this practice out if they want to win favour with the public.”
The project, announced in February 2020, calls for construction of a 40-hectare enclosure for orcas, belugas and dolphins. As large as 50 football fields, it would include a ring of floating nets extending from the land.
Whales and dolphins raised in captivity can’t be returned to the wild because they don’t have the necessary survival skills.
Organizers originally predicted the site would be ready to receive whales in 2022. But the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory hurdles and environmental concerns slowed the project’s progress. The $20-million project is relying on private donations. Another $2 million would be needed annually for operations.
The world’s first whale sanctuary opened in southern Iceland in 2019. The Sea Life Trust has two belugas from China — Little Grey and Little White.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.
Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
