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Killer Whale Loses All Its Teeth Gnawing At Enclosure

Killer Whale Loses All Its Teeth Gnawing At Enclosure

Inouk has been gnawing at his enclosure so much that he's got almost no teeth left

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Warning: this article contains content which some readers may find distressing

These shocking images show a killer whale called Inouk who has lost almost all his teeth because he has been gnawing at his enclosure.

Animal rights organisation One Voice have just made these new images available showing Inouk in his tank at the Marineland Antibes, a theme park on the Cote d'Azur between Cannes and Nice.

One Voice say they were supposed to have a long-awaited meeting with French authorities yesterday (9 July) to discuss banning the captive breeding of marine animals and their trade, but it has been postponed without explanation 'to a future date'.

Newsflash/One Voice

One Voice explained: "The only killer whales in France are at the Marineland Park in Antibes. Inouk is special because he has eaten away the walls of the pool to the pool liner gel. He is in constant pain. The main thing that we denounce is him not being able to live as he should, and the physical consequences of his mental suffering."

The animal rights organisation is demanding that the government ban breeding programmes in aquariums because they say that very often, newborn dolphins and whales die soon after their birth. They also want a ban on the sale of marine wildlife that should be allowed to live in the wild.

Muriel Arnal, the founding president of One Voice, said: "These animals are highly intelligent and need to be in the ocean. A pool can never replace their natural habitat.

"In the wild they would swim a hundred miles a day. Here, muscles are weak and they are bored."

Newsflash/One Voice

She added: "They are constantly being medicated, they fight amongst each other, but in the ocean they would be able to flee."

She said that 'mothers are separated from their young ones' and that this very often greatly affects their mental health.

She explained killer whales are more intelligent than great apes (such as gorillas, chimpanzees or bonobos) and that they have a language, just like humans, with dialects and which evolves depending on their environment.

Newsflash/One Voice

For Arnal, these whales should be in sanctuaries, large protected areas in the ocean that would allow them to learn to swim long distances 'in a straight line instead of going around in circles', learn to hunt for their food, and to live where they can be protected.

One Voice are suing the French government for letting these animals suffer. They want €500,000 (£447,700/$565,800) in compensation that they would use to set up a marine wildlife sanctuary.

LADbible has contacted Marineland Antibes for a comment.

Featured Image Credit: Newsflash/One Voice

Topics: News, Animals