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<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n NICE, France\u2013\u2013<\/strong>Two orca whales stranded at the former Marineland of Antibes marine mammal park on the French Riviera near Nice,\u00a0 France,\u00a0 are to be transferred to the Whale Sanctuary Project in development in Nova Scotia,\u00a0 Canada,\u00a0 French cabinet minister for ecological transition Mathieu Lef\u00e8vre told the French newspaper Nice-Matin<\/em> on December 13, 2025.<\/p>\n Opened in 1970,\u00a0 Marineland of Antibes closed permanently on January 5th, 2025,\u00a0 with no clear plan for the disposition of the 4,000 resident animals,\u00a0 including the two orcas and 12 bottlenose dolphins.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Most of the smaller animals have now been relocated,\u00a0 but Wikie, \u00a0a 23-year-old orca mother, her 11-year-old son Keijo,\u00a0 and the dolphins remain on site.<\/p>\n A 2021 French law forbidding marine mammal exhibition requires that the orcas and dolphins be gone by December 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ministry for Ecological Transition is today taking a decisive new step regarding the future of the animals at Marineland,\u201d\u00a0 Lef\u00e8vre announced in a media release accompanying his statements to Nice-Matin<\/em>,\u00a0 the name of which means \u2018Nice Afternoon,\u2019\u00a0 in order to guarantee their well-being, \u00a0safety, \u00a0and compliance with French law.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter several months of technical analyses, \u00a0inspections, \u00a0and discussions with experts,\u201d\u00a0 Lef\u00e8vre said,\u00a0 \u201cThe two orcas from the park are slated to join the Whale Sanctuary Project,\u201d\u00a0 at an as yet unspecified date apparently contingent on completion of construction begun in October 2025\u2013\u2013and upon the Whale Sanctuary Project raising the estimated $15 million that finishing the planned work will take,\u00a0 over and above what has already been raised and spent.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Rumor long suggested that the two orcas would instead be sent to the Loro Parque marine mammal facility in Tenerife,\u00a0 Canary Islands,\u00a0 Spain.\u00a0 Loro Parque already has four orcas,\u00a0 including a calf born in March 2025.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0 \u201cThe Spanish scientific authority has already refused the transfer of the orcas to Loro Parque,\u201d\u00a0 Lef\u00e8vre continued,\u00a0 \u201cand furthermore, \u00a0it would be unacceptable for these animals to be exploited for entertainment purposes.<\/p>\n In 2024,\u00a0 the newspaper La Nouvelle Republique<\/em>\u00a0and Agence France Presse reported, \u00a0the French government \u201crefused to allow the cetaceans to leave for a park in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Lef\u00e8vre,\u00a0 \u201cThe sanctuary solution is therefore currently the most credible, \u00a0the most ethical, \u00a0and the only one that meets the requirements for safety and animal welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n Lef\u00e8vre suggested that \u201cThe transfer could take place in the summer of 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n But the transfer to Nova Scotia is opposed by the Marineland of Antibes management,\u00a0 Camille Bedara of Riviera Radio reported on December 18,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 who are instead \u201ccalling for the immediate transfer of the orcas and the park\u2019s remaining dolphins to European facilities,\u201d\u00a0 Bedard said.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cThe dolphins at Marineland are also not intended to be transferred to Spain,\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Lef\u00e8vre \u00a0clarified.\u00a0 \u201cThis option does not offer sufficient guarantees regarding animal welfare and, \u00a0there too, \u00a0exposes the animals to the risk of commercial exploitation, \u00a0contrary to the spirit of the 2021 law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dolphins will be kept temporarily on site,\u201d\u00a0 Lef\u00e8vre said,\u00a0 \u201cin pools deemed suitable for a transitional stay, \u00a0pending the opening of the future center at the Beauval Zoo\/Safari Park.\u201d<\/p>\n The previous French \u201cminister for ecological transition,\u201d\u00a0 Agn\u00e8s Pannier-Runacher,\u00a0 on September 5,\u00a0 2025 announced that facilities for the 12 Marineland of Antibes dolphins would be built at the Beauval Zoo\/Safari Park de in Loir-et-Cher.<\/p>\n This scheme has been criticized because the dolphins would remain,\u00a0 in effect,\u00a0 on exhibition.<\/p>\n <\/a> Naomi Rose.<\/strong><\/em> The Whale Sanctuary Project,\u00a0 promoted since 2015 by \u00a0University of British Columbia in Vancouver neuroscientist Lori Marino and Animal Welfare Institute marine mammologist Naomi Rose,\u00a0 on October 21, 2025 obtained a lease on 206 acres of \u201csubmerged and terrestrial Crown lands, for the purpose of operating and maintaining a seaside sanctuary, \u00a0including all related infrastructure, for a term of 20 years, \u00a0with an option to renew for a further 20-year term.\u201d<\/p>\n The Whale Sanctuary Project,\u00a0 said the media release announcing the lease,\u00a0 \u201cnow has a clear path to begin construction and to raise the capital funds to complete the sanctuary and welcome the first whales.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (See <\/strong>Burning urgency to find homes for displaced captive marine mammals<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n The prospects for the San Paolo Dolphin Refuge project, \u00a0begun in 2017 by Jonian Dolphin Conservation at Taranto,\u00a0 Italy,\u00a0 and two other projected sanctuaries for former performing dolphins at Lipsi and Crete,\u00a0 Greece,\u00a0 are somewhat murkier.<\/p>\n (See\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Fly five dolphins from tanks in Greece to tanks in Florida? O\u2019Barry says no.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n San Paolo Dolphin Refuge director Carmelo Fanizza told Agence France Presse on December 5,\u00a0 2025 that \u201cThe site will be ready by the end of this month,\u201d\u00a0 with the first dolphins expected to arrive \u201cno later than May or June 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n But where those dolphins might come from is still unclear.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Taranto,\u00a0 Lipsi,\u00a0 and Crete had all been mentioned as possible destinations for five bottlenose dolphins kept at the Attica Zoo in Greece,\u00a0 whose owners were in January 2025 found guilty of running illegal dolphin exhibits in defiance of a 2012 Greek law.<\/p>\n The convictions came after a multi-year Dolphin Project campaign seeking to close the Attica Zoo dolphinarium.<\/p>\n But the front runner in negotiations to obtain the five dolphins all along was the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida,\u00a0 whose resident dolphin population diminished from nine at peak in 2021 to just five at the beginning of 2025,\u00a0 with attendance and revenue both in a deep dive.<\/p>\n As of December 11,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 reported Ceta Base,\u00a0 a Facebook page that tracks the movements of captive dolphins,\u00a0 the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration \u201chas issued the permit for import of five bottlenose dolphins from the Attica Zoo to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cThe date of transfer is currently unknown to Ceta Base,\u201d\u00a0 the posting continued.<\/p>\n The NOAA permit specifies that the five captive-born bottlenose dolphins,\u00a0 named Blau, Nuik, Tumay, Lima, and Nojus,\u00a0 are to be imported \u201cfor public display purposes. The subject dolphins are all captive-born to individuals with multiple origins,\u201d\u00a0 Ceta Base said,\u00a0 \u201cincluding the southeastern United States, \u00a0Cuba, \u00a0the Russian Federation, \u00a0and the Black Sea.<\/p>\n \u201cThe applicant identified three of the animals as common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and two as Black Sea bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus ponticus). \u00a0The permit expires on November 30, 2030,\u201d\u00a0 Ceta Base added.<\/p>\n Earlier,\u00a0 Ceta Base announced that the defunct Miami Seaquarium has proposed transferring four rough-toothed dolphins named Doris,\u00a0 Kitana,\u00a0 Dagny,\u00a0 and Wren,\u00a0\u00a0 plus two bottlenose dolphins, \u00a0named Star and Squirt, \u00a0to the Clearwater Aquarium, \u00a0along with three harbor seals named Ocean, \u00a0Pharoh, \u00a0and Scallop.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n The Clearwater Aquarium would also receive from the Miami Seaquarium four parrots,\u00a0 including a sulphur-crested cockatoo,\u00a0 a red-and-green macaw,\u00a0 a red-lored Amazon,\u00a0 and a white cockatoo,\u00a0 plus five yellow-footed tortoises and one red-footed tortoise.<\/p>\n The former Miami Seaquarium bottlenose dolphins J.J. and Samantha \u201cwere transported from to the Dolphin Research Center,\u201d\u00a0 in the Florida Keys, \u00a0\u201con December 11, 2025,\u201d\u00a0 Ceta Base said,\u00a0 noting that \u201cBoth animals were born at the Seaquarium\u2013\u2013J.J. on September 4, 1976 and Samantha on November 6, 1986.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the Miami Seaquarium\u2019s closure earlier in the year, \u00a0all sixteen of its dolphins required new homes,\u201d\u00a0 reported Janine Stanwood for WPLG television news.<\/p>\n <\/a> Beluga whales in aquarium.<\/strong><\/em> What will become of 30 beluga whales left at Marineland of Niagara Falls in Ontario,\u00a0 Canada,\u00a0 remains hazy.<\/p>\n Despite the similarity of names,\u00a0 Marineland of Niagara Falls has no connection with Marineland of the Antibes,\u00a0 nor with Marineland of Florida,\u00a0 sold for $6.5 million at a November 10,\u00a0 2025 bankruptcy auction to Jon and Barbara Rubel of Clay County,\u00a0 Florida.<\/p>\n The Rubels have indicated that they intend to keep their Marineland,\u00a0 built in 1938,\u00a0 in operation,\u00a0 with the animals,\u00a0 including 17 dolphins,\u00a0 now there.<\/p>\n Whale Sanctuary Project chief executive officer Charles Vinick suggested to Jeff Russo of WKBW in Buffalo on October 23,\u00a0 2025 that \u201cappropriately eight or so of [the Marineland of Niagara Falls] belugas could come to the sanctuary in Nova Scotia.\u201d<\/p>\n But that would still leave 22 belugas behind,\u00a0 and none of the 20 may have much time to wait.<\/p>\n \u201cEarlier this month,\u201d\u00a0 Russo recounted,\u00a0 \u201cthe park warned it may have to euthanize the marine animals without Canadian government financial support.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> Marineland of Canada ad circa 1979.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Opened in 1961 by John Holer (1935-2018),\u00a0 Marineland of Niagara Falls closed in mid-2024,\u00a0 five years after Holer\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Canadian fisheries minister Joanne Thompson on October 1st, 2025 vetoed a proposed sale of the 30 belugas left at Marineland of Niagara Falls to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China.<\/p>\n \u201cIn her statement, \u00a0minister Thompson maintains that continuing the belugas\u2019 lives in captivity and as a source of entertainment is objectionable,\u201d\u00a0 noted Dalhousie University philosophy professor Andrew Fenton on November 4,\u00a0 2025 in an online commentary entitled \u201cWe Can\u2019t Export Away our Legally Recognized Duties to Captive Cetaceans.\u201d<\/p>\n Continued Fenton,\u00a0 Thompson highlighted \u201cthat denying Marineland the right to export these belugas aligns with the legally required consideration of \u2018the best interests of the cetacean\u2019s welfare,\u2019\u00a0 as required by Canadian law since 2019.<\/p>\n Since the passage of the law,\u00a0 Canadian Press reporter Liam Casey revealed on September 4,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 19 beluga whales and one orca have died at Marineland of Niagara Falls.<\/p>\n <\/a> Helene and Ric O\u2019Barry in Greece at the Attica Zoological Park Zoo.<\/strong><\/em> Dolphin Project founder Ric O\u2019Barry observed to ANIMALS 24-7<\/strong> on September 10,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 that \u201cDolphin abusement parks are falling like dominoes in slow motion. \u00a0And our mailbox is full of questions asking us what WE are going to do with the dolphins and other whales?\u201d left behind by the entertainment industry that made multi-millions of dollars exhibiting them.<\/p>\n Paradoxically,\u00a0 though,\u00a0 Mark J. Palmer of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute on November 11,\u00a0 2025 warned that \u201cThe Solomon Islands government has been asked to approve the capture of 50 wild dolphins to be sold to aquariums around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> Mark J. Palmer directs the Earth Island Institute \u201cdolphin safe\u201d program.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cThe International Marine Mammal Project \u201chas worked for years in the Solomon Islands,\u201d\u00a0 Palmer wrote,\u00a0 \u201cworking with the tuna industry in that country to ensure that tuna is caught without harm to dolphins. \u00a0The International Marine Mammal Project has also strongly opposed the capture of dolphins in the Solomon Islands for captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n The government of the Solomon Islands \u201chas been supportive of efforts to close down capture operations in the country for live dolphins,\u201d\u00a0 Palmer said.\u00a0 \u201cWe encourage them to turn down this latest scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n The Solomon Islands was,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 formerly a major exporter of dolphins to captive venues,\u00a0 chiefly in China and the Middle East.<\/p>\nTransfer of orcas from defunct French marine park approved by French government<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nWikie & Keijo can buy tickets<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nTransfer to Loro Parque rejected<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nDolphins going to Beauval Zoo\/Safari Park<\/h2>\n
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(Beth Clifton collage\/Facebook photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\nWhale Sanctuary yet to be built<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nDolphin sanctuaries have no dolphins<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nAttica Zoo dolphins going to Clearwater<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nNOAA permit specifies \u201cpublic display purposes\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nParrots & tortoises part of the deal<\/h2>\n
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(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\nMarineland of Niagara Falls belugas in danger<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nClosed since mid-2024<\/h2>\n
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(Helene O\u2019Barry photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\nDolphin captures may resume in the Solomon Islands<\/h2>\n
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(Earth Island Institute photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n\u201cWe encourage them to turn down this latest scheme\u201d<\/h2>\n