Marineland: One Voice has obtained a temporary ban on moving the orcas - hearing on 16/01/2024
One Voice has just obtained a temporary ban on Marineland moving the orcas. The hearing will be held on Tuesday 16 January at the Grasse legal tribunal to decide whether there will be a longer ban on the park moving the three orcas in order to allow the two legal experts appointed by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal on 21 September 2023 to carry out their work with the orcas present. In fact, the legal expert report ordered by the Court of Appeal concerns both an examination of the dolphinarium’s Côte d’Azur facilities as well as the orcas’ state of health, even though one of them, Moana, who was barely 12 years old, died in mid-October. This is a significant victorious step for animal advocates like us, even if it in no way predicts the final outcome. The hearing is set for 16 January at 9am in Grasse.
A stress test that confirms the next departure
On Tuesday 9 January, a full-scale stress exercise took place for the transfer of the three orcas that have been held captive since their birth at Marineland Antibes, Wikie, her son Keijo, and her brother Inouk.
One Voice was present and produced almost live footage of the said test, which could well have turned into a transfer to Nice Airport, then to Japan where dolphinariums await them, if we are to believe those involved or the park’s caretakers.
On the Friday before, fences and cranes had appeared at the side of the orcas’ pools, and specifically the ‘medical’ pool. This pool had been nearly emptied since the morning to try to get Wikie onto the stretcher that would keep her in place during the entirety of the transportation. On Tuesday evening, the crane left.
One Voice activists from the Nice branch and nearby were there during the day and the evening. MEP Caroline Roose (EELV-Les Verts) also supported our approach for the whole day.
Since that day, there has been proof that the orcas are in fact destined to be sent to Japan very soon by the park – confirmed on one hand by the Ministry for Energy Transition, who denied only the date, and on the other by the presence of a Japanese delegate being there on the day in question – we spared no effort. We also had to face silence from Marineland, who refused any exchanges or communications.
The Ministry of Ecology’s expertise, who blocked the key focus from us
The first meeting for the independent legal expert report that we asked for and that was ordered by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal was set, at Marineland, for 28 November 2023. The request from the Secretary of State for Biodiversity to shed “light” on Moana’s death six weeks earlier – an expert report with surprising conclusions – prevented the one we had obtained from taking place on that date. It was therefore postponed. The new date for the first meeting for the independent legal expert report was set for 19 January 2024.
Considering the significant movements around the orcas in the last few days, we believe there is an upcoming transfer for them planned, which would make the legal expert report that One Voice obtained almost irrelevant. This is the reason why we have asked for authorisation to subpoena Marineland from one hour to the next, and we have already had it confirmed that the park will be prohibited from moving them during this emergency interim proceeding.
This is one step towards victory thanks to our unfailing determination to find solutions
We would like to sit around a table to discuss the orcas’ future. The State has a responsibility towards these great mammals: in 2021, at the time of the vote against animal abuse, authorities clearly established that they would do everything they could so that these animals would be sent to sanctuaries and not be endlessly exploited. We will never give up: the marine sanctuary in Canada is just waiting for confirmation of Wikie, Inouk, and Keijo’s arrival to be able to get ready for them.
Translated from the French by Joely Justice