{"id":849107,"date":"2025-05-17T22:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T03:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/17\/whale-sanctuary-project-in-nova-scotia-renews-bid-to-get-two-whales-from-france\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T22:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T03:12:20","slug":"whale-sanctuary-project-in-nova-scotia-renews-bid-to-get-two-whales-from-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/17\/whale-sanctuary-project-in-nova-scotia-renews-bid-to-get-two-whales-from-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia renews bid to get two whales from France"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The group behind a project to build North America\u2019s first coastal refuge for captive whales in Nova Scotia has renewed its bid to provide a seaside sanctuary for two killer whales living in a shuttered marine park in France.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project, which has been working on its plan for five years, has yet to receive federal or provincial government approvals and its $20-million plan remains on the drawing board because of a lack of consent from adjacent landowners in eastern Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n

As well, a similar pitch last year was rejected by the French government in January, when officials said the proposed refuge near Wine Harbour, N.S., wouldn\u2019t be ready in time, and they raised concerns about ocean temperatures.<\/p>\n

Still, the non-profit group released a statement last week saying it was ready to work with the French government, after plans fell through to move the whales from Marineland Antibes in the south of France to the Loro Parque zoo on Spain\u2019s Canary Islands.<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

According to news agency Agence France-Presse, Spanish authorities blocked the transfer after a scientific agency ruled that the zoo on Tenerife island \u201cdid not meet minimum standards in terms of area, volume and depth\u201d for the marine mammals.<\/p>\n

\n

\"For\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cGiven that, we cannot provide authorization of the animals to be transferred to Spain,\u201d a French official told AFP. As a result, French officials said Marineland Antibes must keep caring for the animals, the report said.<\/p>\n

In February, France\u2019s environment minister, Agn\u00e8s Pannier-Runacher, said she wanted to work with her Spanish, Italian and Greek counterparts on creating a European marine sanctuary. But French officials said it would take more than a year to build such a reserve.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s last two performing orcas \u2014 24-year-old Wikie and her 11-year-old male offspring Keijo \u2014 and 12 dolphins must be removed from France by the end of this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Whale Sanctuary Project is making it clear again to all parties that we are ready to work \u2026 to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we are preparing in Nova Scotia,\u201d Whale Sanctuary Project organizers said in a statement released April 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it brings ever greater urgency for all of us \u2014 government, marine parks, non-profit organizations, and benefactors \u2014 to work together to give these highly intelligent, social and emotionally sensitive beings the immediate care they need and then to retire them to sanctuary as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n