Loro Parque: Press Release

The situation for the orcas at Marineland is at an impasse. Worse still, the threat of being sent to Europe’s most abusive dolphinarium now hangs over Wikie and Keijo.

At a time when dolphinariums are closing across Europe, France very soon risks being singled out for its lack of foresight and its wait-and-see approach which have led to the current situation. A situation that cannot be attributed to the organisations that have been raising the alarm for many years and whose proposed alternatives are being dismissed one after the other.

The latest development: after announcing that it would prioritise the transfer of the two orcas from Marineland to the future marine sanctuary in Nova Scotia (Canada) – a project on which our association has been working for five years in collaboration with the Whale Sanctuary Project and the world’s leading specialists – the Ministry for Ecological Transition has been backtracking since mid-January. So much for the sanctuary for Wikie and Keijo. Between a rock and a hard place, the fate of Wikie and Keijo now hangs in the balance between a transfer to Loro Parque in the Canary Islands (Spain) or outright euthanasia – an argument used to put pressure on Spain which until now had considered the conditions at Loro Parque too poor to accommodate the orcas.

In this equation, animal welfare is overshadowed by financial interests. It also paves the way for commodification towards Asia.

Breeding and transfer to Japan: reading between the lines of the Loro Parque solution

Loro Parque is, in itself, a catastrophic prospect. There are already four orcas there, still subject to breeding and performances: a female and her one-year-old calf, Teno, in a pool separate from the two males. This raises the question of social interactions within a group with established hierarchies, involving orcas made aggressive by captivity, in a space that is too confined, falling short of the recommendations of the European Association of Aquatic Mammals (EAAM). Four orcas died there between 2021 and 2024 at ages ranging from 3 to 29, whereas the life expectancy of an orca in the wild exceeds 50 years.

The park has a facility capable of accommodating a maximum of six adult orcas, and it is almost certain, according to our sources, that its intention is to breed Wikie upon her arrival. This was already under discussion in 2025 during the previous attempt by Parques Reunidos, the owner of Marineland, to transfer the orcas to Loro Parque. The park had then stopped administering contraception to the orca before the Spanish government blocked their transfer.

This time, if the transfer is politically approved, Wikie will be used for breeding. Her son Keijo, meanwhile, could be sent to Japan and face an equally tragic fate. Asia is not about to close its dolphinariums. Faced with a shortage of orcas on the international ‘market’ and a genetic issue preventing the breeding of orcas already held in Asia, Keijo represents a multi-million-euro asset for these countries.

The links between Loro Parque and Japan are already strong. Officially, Teno was born in March 2025 to an unknown father. According to sources close to the case, his mother was likely inseminated, potentially by Earth, the last male orca in captivity in Japan, who died at the age of 16 last summer.

Orcas are social animals. In Japan, all orcas belong to Grandvista Hotel which owns two parks: Kamogawa and Kobe Suma Aqualife. A female orca on loan to Nagoya Park has been kept alone since Earth’s death for no apparent reason. That is unless Japan is expecting another father.

The hypocrisy of a move abroad

What message does the French government wish to send to the public? What is the value of the law of 2021 banning the captivity and breeding of cetaceans in France, if they are traded abroad to suffer an even worse fate?

One Voice refuses to stand by helplessly whilst this tragedy unfolds before our eyes and is calling for a Europe-wide consultation to offer all cetaceans still in captivity a sanctuary along our many coastlines or outside Europe. The proposed sanctuary in Nova Scotia remains a solid option, but it cannot move forward without guarantees that the orcas will be transferred there. The lack of a ministerial decision is currently blocking authorisations, investment and funding. We expect France to send a strong signal to the rest of the world, rather than becoming a symbol of failure.

Loro Parque: Press Release

One Voice condemns France’s decision to take the easy way out by opting for the worst possible scenario for the orcas at Marineland rather than setting an example