The order deepens over the European sanctuary

The uncertain future of two killer killer killer is not closer to the resolution of Despite the closure of their home at the Naval Zoo two months ago.

23-year-old Wiki and her 11-year-old son Kiyo are still stored in Marineland Antibes, located in southern France after being closed in January due to an upcoming law banning the use of Orcas in the show.

For months, Marineland managers have been trying to send the whales of killers to other sea zoos, but this angered the animal rights campaigns that want to be housed in a sanctuary where the orcs will not have to be presented or used for reproduction.

The orcs were expected to go to another naval zoo in Spain when the French government rejected a move to a proposed sanctuary in Canada a few weeks ago.

But now Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister of Ecology, said he would talk to colleagues in Spain, Italy and Greece about creating a different sanctuary together. However, her proposal has several other details and has been criticized.

The Ministry of Ecology, when asked by the BBC, had no more information on where a sanctuary could be found or who would finance its construction and current costs.

Loro Park, a naval zoo in Spain, who wants to receive the marine's killer whales, told the BBC this week that the current proposal is “completely inappropriate” and that they are best positioned to take care of them.

Christoph Kisling, Vice President of the Tenerife Facility, said the Whale Saint “are currently not able to meet the complex physiological, social and environmental needs” of the killer whales.

Most designs include bay enclosure and staff hiring to ensure that Wikie and Keijo – who were born in captivity and cannot be put into the wild – were properly fed and cared for.

Kisling said that such a solution may be possible if there is more expansion research and planning, but “Such a process can take years, leaving the two Marineland (Orcas) to a facility that is transferred.”

Campaigns have pointed out that in the last few years several orcs have been killed in Loro Park, including three between March 2021 and September 2022.

Managers at the Naval Zoo said the scientific review of these orcs at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria showed that death was inevitable.

They are also afraid that Wikie can be used for reproduction. Loro Park announced in January that Morgan, the only woman in the three orcs currently held there, is pregnant.

Catherine Wise, from the protection of charity world animals, said Loro Park is ultimately an entertainment business that uses Orcas to make money.

She added: “Morgan's pregnancy emphasizes the fact that Loro Park can never be a suitable option for Wiki and Cago and should be removed as an option.”

Marineland, who is still paying to take care of the orcs, said moving to Loro Park as soon as possible is in the best interest in the well -being of the animals. They have requested the Ministry of Ecology to approve the transfer.

The Whale Sanctuary in Canada applied for the French government to take over in the orcs last year, but their offer was rejected in January.

They were told that the site they chose in Nova Scotia is too far away and that the water there is too cold for Wiki and Cago, who have spent their entire lives in southern France.

Following the proposal of Pannier-Runacher as a sanctuary in Europe, which she announced two weeks ago in a video on Instagram, the directors of the rejected Canadian project criticize the idea of ​​being built in the Mediterranean.

They wrote a letter to her, citing Dr. David Perpinian, a diplomat at the European College of Zoological Medicine, who said: “The origin of Wiki and Cago is Iceland. These two orcs do not belong to the ecotypes observed in the Mediterranean.”

He added: “The possibility of building a sanctuary for them in the Mediterranean is probably the highest of possible options.”

The directors also said that unlike the European proposal, their sanctuary was ready to start construction, as the design had already been finalized.

Other animal rights groups are more welcoming than the Panat-Racher message, saying that the European sanctuary would still be better for the welfare of Orcas than life in another sea zoo.

The sea shepherd, the Sea Society for Conservation, responded to the Minister on Instagram, saying that it is a chance to achieve what the zoo calls “impossible” – the construction of an ocean sanctuary where captive orcs can enjoy the rest of their lives.

Panier-Jacher said in his video that he is aware of the strong feelings that people have about where Wiki and Kiyo need to be restored.

She did not rule out to send them to Loro Park or other sea zoos, except that she would “oppose any transfer on a site that is not suitable for accommodation.”

Last November, she blocked Marineland's application to send the whales of murderers to a naval zoo to Japan, citing a worse provisions for human animal welfare.

The Year of the Sea is currently underway in France, a government initiative to raise awareness of the meaning of the ocean, and Panier-Janukar believes that the creation of a European Whale Sanctuary would be appropriate for this.

“I'm not telling you it will work,” she told Instagram users. “But nothing dares, nothing won.”