PETA issues strong response after update on orcas 'left for dead' in abandoned marine park
Animal activists have been passionately advocating for the future of two abandoned orcas for nearly two years now and PETA has made its position clear after what appeared to be a positive update last week.
Wilkie and Keijo, a mother-and-son duo, have been 'left for dead' at Marineland Antibes ever since the French amusement park closed in January 2025.
The French government had promised a solution but heartbreaking videos and pictures have continued to capture the two animals living in filthy conditions, with huge concerns raised about their future.
While some had suggested that the orcas could be released into the wild, it is unlikely that they would survive, as they have spent their whole lives in captivity.
Advert
Last week, Spanish amusement park Loro Parque confirmed that it would be willing to take the orcas in, providing that the Spanish government approved the move, which appeared to offer a potentially positive solution.
However, PETA has now issued a statement to LADbible, raising its concerns about Loro Parque's abilities to properly provide for the orcas.
Mimi Bekhechi, PETA’s Senior Vice President said: "The French government is betraying its own 2021 law by allowing Wikie and Keijo – the last two orcas imprisoned at Marineland – to be shipped to Loro Parque, a notorious marine abusement park in Tenerife, where captive cetaceans continue to suffer and die.
"After a lifetime of suffering, the government should be ensuring these highly intelligent, deeply social animals are re-homed to a sea sanctuary, not another watery prison where they’ll be forced to entertain paying crowds. France promised to end the exploitation of cetaceans, not export it, and we urge them to stand by this commitment and do right by these orcas."
PETA points out that four orcas have died under Loro Parque's care, while the Spanish facility is also breeding them, which goes is in direct violation of France’s 2021 ban on cetacean reproduction.
In Loro Parque's statement to LADbible, the Tenerife-based amusement park suggested that their offer was based on responsibility rather than potential financial gain.
Wolfgang Kiessling, president of the Loro Parque Group, said the park is willing to 'rescue Wikie and Keijo and offer all available resources to ensure they do not die and can be permanently housed under conditions that guarantee their protection and welfare'.
“This cannot be treated as a simple administrative procedure,” the park said in an official statement. “It concerns the lives of two animals who require an immediate and permanent solution, technically viable and endorsed by the competent authorities of the countries involved.”
Kiessling added: “We do not earn a single euro more by having six orcas instead of four. We are doing this out of moral, technical, and professional responsibility. We do it because we know how to care for these animals and because we want to prevent Wikie and Keijo from dying in France without a real alternative."
The morality of zoos and conservation parks has long been questioned by animal rights groups across the world, with Loro Parque previously clashing with PETA over accusations of the alleged mistreatment of the orcas.
Kiessling has long stressed that any animal cruelty allegations at Loro Parque are unfounded but it seems clear that PETA would advocate for a different destination, such as a seaside sanctuary that is being established in Canada, for the abandoned orca family.
James Moorhouse