Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia renews bid to get two whales from France

HALIFAX — The group behind a project to build North America’s 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.

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.

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’t be ready in time, and they raised concerns about ocean temperatures.

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’s Canary Islands.

According to news agency Agence France-Presse, Spanish authorities blocked the transfer after a scientific agency ruled that the zoo on Tenerife island “did not meet minimum standards in terms of area, volume and depth” for the marine mammals.

“Given that, we cannot provide authorization of the animals to be transferred to Spain,” a French official told AFP. As a result, French officials said Marineland Antibes must keep caring for the animals, the report said.

In February, France’s environment minister, Agnès 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.

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’s last two performing orcas — 24-year-old Wikie and her 11-year-old male offspring Keijo — and 12 dolphins must be removed from France by the end of this year.

“The Whale Sanctuary Project is making it clear again to all parties that we are ready to work … to bring Wikie and Keijo to the sanctuary we are preparing in Nova Scotia,” Whale Sanctuary Project organizers said in a statement released April 14.

“And it brings ever greater urgency for all of us — government, marine parks, non-profit organizations, and benefactors — 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.”

Last month, documents obtained by The Canadian Press revealed the group had yet to secure approval from all five owners of the property adjacent to where the group plans to build a huge, floating net enclosure for belugas and orcas retired from marine theme parks.

The provincial government has confirmed the group won’t be granted a Crown lease for 81 hectares of land and water unless the landowners grant unanimous consent.

On Tuesday, the project’s executive director, Charles Vinick, did not directly respond when asked if anything had changed in terms of landowner consent.

“We are in discussions with the Nova Scotia government, and now also with the French government and other European (non-government organizations) with respect to Wikie and Keijo, and cannot comment at this time,” he said via email.

In Halifax, a spokeswoman for provincial Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton issued a brief emailed statement saying there had been “no change to the status of this file.”

“To be clear, the department’s role in relation to this project is solely the proponent’s application for a Crown land lease,” said Rudee Gaudet. “It is not up to the department to approve the project itself.”

Final approval from the province would be up to Premier’s Tim Houston’s cabinet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2025.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press