After more than a year of waiting, the fate of the cetaceans of Marineland d’Antibes is taking a clear direction, but not the one we all hoped for. The Ministry of Ecological Transition has in fact validated the ZooParc de Beauval project, in Loir-et-Cher: 23 dolphins, twelve from Antibes and 11 from Planète Sauvage, will be transferred by spring 2027. Unfortunately, however, this is not a release but a simple move from a marine park to a zoo.
Beauval promises an “exceptional” structure: seven basins, three large lagoons, 2.5 hectares of surface area and an investment estimated between 25 and 40 million euros. Artificial currents, sea water, expanded spaces. The park is committed to limiting reproduction, prohibiting artificial insemination and excluding commercial entertainment. Transfers, the ministry assures, will only be permitted in a “extremely rigorous framework linked to animal welfareA framework presented as innovative but the reality is very different: dolphins will continue to live in captivity.
The divided NGOs and the sanctuary issue
For months the associations have been asking for an alternative: a marine sanctuary in semi-freedom, far from the logic of zoological parks. However, the Canadian project in Nova Scotia remained unfinished, still on paper. Other European sanctuaries are not ready.
Some NGOs denounce what they define as “false sanctuary“, fearing that behind the language of well-being lies a continuation of exposure to the public. Other organizations have instead chosen to collaborate in the drafting of an ethical charter. The result is a fracture in the animal rights front, while time is ticking and only the cetaceans are the ones who lose out.
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Orcas, the real critical point
If the transfer seems to be on track for the dolphins, albeit negatively, the fate of the two orcas, Wikie and her son Keijo, remains suspended. A technical report reports structural problems in the tanks built in 2000, with cracks and failures requiring continuous maintenance. The government does not rule out a move to Loro Parque in Tenerife as an “emergency solution”, while the Canadian sanctuary appears far from being realised. Moving them multiple times, experts warn, would be risky.
A political choice, not a victory
The closure of Marineland in 2025 had sparked hopes of radical change. The 2021 law progressively bans the keeping of cetaceans in France, but the absence of alternative facilities has left the government with no immediate options. And so we arrived at the move to Beauval, presented by many as a pragmatic response. Behind all this, however, lies another truth: dolphins will not finally live free. They will only change address. And the promise of the sanctuaries remains, for now, a project postponed to a later date.
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