Video Shows Orcas Left Behind in Algae-Filled Tanks Months After French Park Shut Down

In November 2021, the French government passed legislation banning the performance of cetaceans, including whales and dolphins. In anticipation of the law coming into effect late next year, the French Riviera’s Marineland closed its doors in January. Four months later, two orcas are still captive in the abandoned marine zoo’s algae-infested tanks. Earlier this month, the animal welfare organization TideBreakers published drone footage of Marineland in Antibes, France, revealing two captive orcas in greenish tanks. The fate of Wikie and Keijo, a mother and her calf, has been up in the air since the marine zoo closed down earlier this year. TideBreakers is urgently calling for global attention, warning that “it’s been reported euthanasia is a consideration,” according to its video statement. “Leaving them in a shut-down facility, confined to a crumbling, decrepit tank, is simply not an option,” the organization said in its statement. TideBreakers pointed to a recent tragedy involving t ... Read full article.