Transfer of the dolphins from Marineland: Press release
Following the failure of various legal actions brought in recent days by 15 organisations, the way was completely clear for Parques Reunidos on Wednesday 22 July. The previous afternoon, transport crates were brought out, and stretchers began to be delivered to the Marineland grounds, followed by the semi-trailers signalling an imminent departure.
Loading is now underway for eight of the twelve dolphins at Marineland in Antibes. We are sharing these images with you as a sneak preview.
Their final destination: the dolphinarium in Málaga. A national scandal, a disgrace orchestrated by money, and a high-risk journey for animals whose safety cannot be guaranteed.
Once on board, long hours await them, immobilised out of the water, terrified, with the pressure of gravity bearing down on their organs, in night-time temperatures that do not drop below 24 degrees.
Lua, torn away from her mother, her grandmother and her best friend – separated from everything that made her captivity bearable – will find herself in Málaga with the male dolphins, driven mad by captivity. And where are they headed? A Spanish dolphinarium, then another at Beauval Zoo, for which the Minister for the Environment has just issued a decree explicitly authorising breeding. The French public is thus forced to watch helplessly as this tragedy unfolds – a tragedy that the government has fully supported through its failure to find a dignified solution in the form of sanctuaries, and its pro-financial-interests stance towards Marineland and Beauval Zoo. And this is despite the repeated lies from Parques Reunidos, which as recently as Monday claimed it had not set a date for the cetaceans’ departure.
The teams from One Voice, who have been on site for days, will be keeping watch throughout the night; our campaigners are gathering for a dignified protest, in stark contrast to this industry of carnage.
More information to follow tomorrow.
Transfer of the dolphins from Marineland: Press Release
The transfer of the dolphins from Marineland to Spain has begun