Overview

• Marineland d’Antibes, Europe’s largest marine park, closed in January 2025 due to declining attendance and a 2021 French law banning cetacean performances by 2026.
• Drone footage released in May 2025 by the NGO TideBreakers revealed deteriorating conditions, with orcas and dolphins confined to algae-infested pools.
• Attempts to transfer the orcas to facilities in Japan and Spain failed, leaving their future dependent on finding a suitable sanctuary, which remains in early planning stages.
• Marineland management and the French Ministry of Ecological Transition assert that the animals are being cared for by staff and that the algae is a seasonal phenomenon.
• Public pressure and NGO advocacy have intensified, but no concrete progress has been made toward relocating the animals to a long-term sanctuary.