Tuesday 26 January 2021 | 23

Two dolphins from Parc Astérix, Cessol and Guama, are already in Sweden

Two dolphins from Parc Astérix, Cessol and Guama, are already in Sweden

Mis à jour le 27 January 2021

Such cynicism ... When Parc Astérix reported on Sunday 24 January 2021 on the gradual transfer of the dolphins used in its dolphinarium, several of them – or even all? – had already left! Two arrived in Sweden on Saturday 23 January 2021. And not in a sanctuary.

Hr blog

Yesterday Norrköping Airport in Sweden published photos of a cargo plane transporting dolphins from France. Djurrättsalliansen, our Swedish partner in the Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition, alerted us. We then found out how many there were, their ages and the reason for transferring them.

The dolphins concerned were Guama, born in the wild and captured in Cuba in 1987 when he was only five years old, and Cessol, the other male in Parc Astérix, born at Seaworld Orlando in 1984. Both are very old but they have been sent to Kolmårdens, a Swedish dolphinarium, which opened in 1969, for breeding. Where more than sixty dolphins have already died!

Amongst Guama's offspring at Astérix are Bahia, born in 2015, and her sister Bélize, born two years later, and before them there were their big brother, Naska, born in 2010, and their half-brother, Ekinox, Femke's son. The two young males were sold to Greece in 2016. Guama is also the father of Aïcko and Galéo, who were sent to Planète Sauvage. We are well aware of the tragedy that befell Aïcko.

That is why, when we were working in 2017 with the advisers of Ségolène Royal, then Minister of Ecology, we had asked for (and obtained!) a ban on breeding AND on exchanges of cetaceans between dolphinariums. For those who have turned captive animals into an industry, sensing the way the wind has been blowing since the announcements Barbara Pompili made at the end of September, it was unthinkable to allow these animals the opportunity to spend a few years of retirement living as dolphins should. The documents had been prepared as early as 25 November and 21 December 2020! Two months ago. That is why we are not giving up the fight against these animal parks.

Given their age, stress could easily have killed them: Guama, for whom freedom is such a distant memory, and Cessol, who will never have known freedom. We are extremely worried about Femke, who is already very fragile. Where has she been sent? Getting rid of such old dolphins by sending them away to breed shows total lack of respect.

Obviously at the moment there are no sanctuaries in Europe, but the Parc showed not the slightest willingness to go in that direction. Parc Astérix will have made a good profit from the dolphins without ever giving them anything in return or even considering it. When one thinks of the profits that the managers of the dolphinarium have made from them, they could at least have created somewhere for the dolphins to live out their lives in peace with being subject to any form of exploitation. The system continues, as does our fight.

Julia Mothé
Hr blog

In the subject

The court prohibit Marineland from relocating the orcas before the end of the independent assessment Moana has just died in the chlorinated Marineland prison, the only place he has seen in his twelve years of life. One Voice is going to court again

Comments 23

I accept that publication of my comments is subject to the code of conduct.

aria | Friday 29 January 2021

Les enfants préfèreront savoir les animaux/mammifères heureux et libres plutôt que de participer indirectement à leur maltraitance.
Parents, prenez une décision forte, boycottez zoos et autres delphinariums.

Alylulu19! | Friday 29 January 2021

L'être humain detruit vraiment tout sur son passage.... Arrêtons cette maltraitance qui dure depuis trop longtemps. Pauvre France, même pas capable de faire cesser toutes ces pratiques barbares et vraiment inutiles. A quand un gouvernement sérieux?

paulina | Friday 29 January 2021

Jusqu'à quand faudra-t-il voir cette maltraitance animale ? Oui que les parents n 'emmènent plus leurs enfants dans ces parcs ni dans les cirques tant que l'on se servira d'un animal pour gagner de l'argent.
Les animaux sauvages doivent rester libres et les animaux domestiques qui nous nourrissent, nous aident, et nous aiment soient respectés et bien soignés et qu'on interdise enfin les expérimentations sur les animaux!

Lolotte | Thursday 28 January 2021

Mais quelle horreur, une honte. Ça mériterait que plus personne n'aille dans ce parc. Ces animaux doivent vivre dans leur milieu naturel et non dans des petits bassins chlorés ! C’est de la cruauté, c’est inhumain...