The group behind a project to build North America’s first coastal refuge for captive whales in Nova Scotia has renewed its bid to provide a seaside sanctuary to two killer whales living in a shuttered marine park in France.
But the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project, which has been working on its plan for five years, has yet to receive government approval and its $20-million plan remains on the drawing board.
As well, a similar pitch last year was rejected by the French government in January, when French officials said the refuge wouldn’t be ready in time, and they raised concerns about ocean temperatures off the province’s east coast.
Still, the non-profit group released a statement last week saying it was ready to work with the French government after plans to move the whales from Marineland Antibes in the south of France to the Loro Parque zoo on Spain’s Canary Islands fell through.
According to the French news agency Agence France-Presse, Spanish authorities blocked the transfer after a committee ruled the zoo lacked the proper facilities.
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Marineland Antibes closed its entertainment park in January in response to a French law passed in 2021 banning the possession and display of captive whales and dolphins.
The law says the country’s last two performing orcas — Wikie and her offspring Keijo — and 12 dolphins must be removed from France by the end of this year.
“The Whale Sanctuary Project is making it clear again to all parties that we are ready to work with the French government, with Marineland Antibes, and with any and all other organizations to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we are preparing in Nova Scotia,” project organizers said in a statement released April 14.
Last month, documents obtained by The Canadian Press revealed the group had yet to secure approval from all five owners of the property adjacent to where the group plans to build a huge, floating net enclosure for belugas and orcas retired from marine theme parks.
The provincial government has confirmed the group won’t be granted a Crown lease for 81 hectares of land and water near Wine Harbour in eastern Nova Scotia unless the landowners grant unanimous consent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
