Wikie and Keijo: Fondation Franz Weber Opposes the Transfer of France’s Last Two Captive Orcas to Tenerife

This legislation was based on a clear recognition: orcas and dolphins are highly intelligent and social animals whose biological and behavioural needs cannot be met in artificial tanks. The French legislature also acknowledged that cetaceans kept and bred in marine parks do not contribute to the conservation of wild populations.

Switzerland had already set an important precedent by banning the import of whales and dolphins in 2012, and France deserves recognition for following this path in 2021. However, such a ban does not address the question of what happens to the animals when the facilities that keep them cease operations. Five years after the adoption of the French law, there is still no genuinely satisfactory and welfare-oriented solution for the remaining captive cetaceans affected by this transition.

“The 2021 French law was not adopted so that orcas could continue to be moved from one tank to another. It was adopted because captivity, breeding, and performances involving cetaceans could no longer be justified,” Fondation Franz Weber emphasizes.

According to FFW, the “urgency” now invoked by the French authorities and Marineland’s owners must not be used as a pretext for a rushed and poorly justified decision. The closure of the park and the future of the site have been known for years. The current pressure appears to be driven more by economic interests and real-estate development plans than by the needs of Wikie and Keijo.

FFW supports a more respectful alternative: keeping the two orcas in Antibes until a suitable marine sanctuary is ready to receive them. The Whale Sanctuary Project is currently under construction in Nova Scotia, Canada. While the waters there are colder than those off the French coast, Wikie and Keijo descend from Icelandic orcas. They are physiologically adapted to cold marine environments, and a transfer to Nova Scotia should therefore be feasible with gradual acclimatization, veterinary supervision, and proper long-term monitoring. In addition, the Whale Sanctuary Project has committed to providing care and support for the orcas in Antibes until the sanctuary is completed, although financial support is still needed both for the animals’ care and for the completion of the Canadian sanctuary.

A sanctuary is not a risk-free solution. However, it is the only option that offers Wikie and Keijo hope for a better future. Loro Parque, by contrast, represents an outcome whose consequences are already well known: lifelong captivity. There, the two orcas would find the same artificial tanks, the same public performances, and the same breeding programme that France explicitly chose to move away from in 2021. For Wikie and Keijo, this would not be a new beginning, far from it. This prospect is all the more troubling given that four orcas have died at Loro Parque in recent years.

During a visit conducted between 31 May and 1 June 2026, representatives of Fondation Franz Weber directly observed the facilities of the “Orca Ocean” exhibit at Loro Parque. The available space appears particularly limited for animals of the size and social complexity of orcas, especially considering that some individuals must regularly be separated from the group. The potential arrival of Wikie and Keijo therefore raises serious concerns about the feasibility of integrating six orcas into facilities that are already heavily constrained. FFW also attended the daily orca shows, which take place in an environment characterized by constant activity, large crowds, amplified music, loudspeaker announcements, and noisy audience reactions. This situation is particularly concerning for animals that rely heavily on sound to navigate, communicate, and perceive their environment.

FFW calls on the Spanish authorities to maintain their refusal to authorize the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque. Should this position change, Fondation Franz Weber will use every legal means available to oppose a transfer that it considers incompatible with animal welfare and with the spirit of French legislation on captive cetaceans.

The fate of Wikie and Keijo must be consistent with the historic decision taken by France in 2021 to end cetacean captivity. Their case should set a precedent—not for prolonging a declining model, but for accelerating the disappearance of marine mammal entertainment parks.