Marineland orcas are being transferred to Loro Parque on Tenerife

Tenerife is set to receive two orcas by air freight. This brings to an end a dispute lasting a good year and a half over the fate of the marine mammals. Marineland on the Côte d’Azur has been forced to stop keeping orcas in captivity due to stricter animal welfare regulations. As a result, the entire park was closed due to a lack of financial viability.

Perhaps this is also why Loro Parque in Tenerife showed a keen interest in taking the whales on from the outset. According to the Efe news agency, the marine mammals are due to be transferred to Tenerife «shortly».

Wiki is 24 and Keijo is eleven years old. The two orcas have been swimming their laps in solitude since Marineland closed in early 2025. The tricks they were trained to perform over the years are no longer being shown to visitors since the park closed. Meanwhile, the pools are also considered to be in a state of disrepair. The park operator has been doing only the bare minimum since revenue dried up. Loro Parque consequently sees itself as «the only solution to save the orcas». Animal rights activists strongly disagree.

Loro Parque on Tenerife is set to welcome new orcas

Animal rights activists had repeatedly pointed out that France’s ban on keeping orcas in captivity would be undermined if the animals were simply moved out of the country and then had to continue living in cramped pools, for example in Spain. Among others, the animal rights organisation PETA called on the relevant minister in France to ensure that «the orcas currently in captivity are transferred to marine sanctuaries so that they can spend the rest of their lives in a more natural environment.»

The Society for the Rescue of Dolphins praised the law as «groundbreaking». It criticises Loro Parque’s efforts regarding Wiki and Keijo and explicitly names the director of the zoo in Puerto de la Cruz, Wolfgang Kiessling, as the driving force behind the relocation. For dolphin conservationists – orcas also belong to the dolphin family – «the Whale Sanctuary Project in Canada» is the «preferred solution», as endorsed «by the government».

Whilst the four remaining dolphins are due to be transferred to Valencia, it appears that Loro Parque’s takeover of the two orcas is now a done deal. As early as the end of July, eight dolphins had been flown to Málaga via Nice Airport. This time, too, the transfer is to be carried out via «Nice Côte d’Azur Airport».

Loro Parque is focusing on breeding – thereby circumventing France’s animal welfare law

France had already passed its animal welfare law in 2021. The park subsequently closed its doors in early 2025 – before the law came into force. Nevertheless, the relocation remained unresolved for a long time. Loro Parque has been trying to secure the two orcas ever since the closure was announced.

For many years, the zoo on Tenerife had an agreement with Sea World in America. After the US company announced it was ending its orca programme and Loro Parque ruled out taking this step itself, it had become significantly more difficult for the zoo in Puerto de la Cruz to obtain new orcas in captivity. Initially, the zoo’s own breeding programme produced offspring, although four orcas also died at the zoo within just three years. A fresh bloodline is therefore of particular interest to the zoo.

Statistically speaking, France is complying with its own law by relocating the remaining animals. However, it must be expected that the 14 marine mammals now transferred from France to Spain will also be used for breeding in future. The spirit of what is actually a progressive law is undermined by the French decision to place the whales in a park that continues to focus on breeding.