The first time Charles Vinick flew alongside an orca was 1998. From his seat aboard the large military plane, he could see Keiko, the whale star of the Free Willy movie, partly submerged in a tank in the belly of the aircraft. A caretaker hovered, spraying him with cool water and patting him, en route from Oregon to Iceland, where he eventually lived in a sea pen for four years.
Mr. Vinick, who helped transport Keiko and set up his new home, is now hoping to do the same for the last two whales in captivity in the south of France – this time flying them to a secluded bay three hours east of Halifax, in what he says would be the world’s first whale sanctuary that can house both orcas and belugas. “Certainly, it seems like these animals in many facilities are suffering,” he said. “That’s driving some of the emotion and some of the necessity to move quickly.”
Mr. Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, recently submitted a bid to the French government to bring orca Wikie and her son, Keijo, from Marineland in Antibes to the yet-to-be-built sanctuary in rural Port Hilford, N.S. – an effort that famed conservationist Jane Goodall has thrown her name behind. If the bid is successful, Mr. Vinick says the orcas could arrive in Nova Scotia as early as mid-2025.
Wikie and Keijo currently live at a marine park in Antibes, a French Riviera resort town east of Cannes. Under the terms of a government ban, the park has until 2026 to free the animals.Supplied by Whale Sanctuary Project
NOVA SCOTIA
Harpellville
Port
Hilford
HWY 211
Holland
Harbour
Indian
Harbour
Bay
Reids
Island
Wine
Harbour
Sanctuary site
NOVA SCOTIA
1 km
the globe and mail, source: whalesanctuaryproject.org;
openstreetmap
NOVA SCOTIA
Harpellville
Port
Hilford
HWY 211
Holland
Harbour
Indian
Harbour
Bay
Reids
Island
Wine
Harbour
Sanctuary site
NOVA SCOTIA
1 km
the globe and mail, source: whalesanctuaryproject.org;
openstreetmap
NOVA SCOTIA
Harpellville
Port
Hilford
Holland
Harbour
Indian
Harbour
Bay
Reids
Island
Wine
Harbour
Sanctuary site
NOVA SCOTIA
1 km
the globe and mail, source: whalesanctuaryproject.org; openstreetmap
France’s government banned whales and dolphins from captivity and imposed a deadline of 2026. It was expected to announce a decision on where the whales should go this month, but, on June 9, President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election, and now the timing of a decision on the orcas’ fate is up in the air, said Muriel Arnal, president of the French animal-rights group One Voice.
“We will keep fighting for whichever government is going to be elected in three weeks to consider this solution,” said Ms. Arnal, who has been lobbying France to send the orcas to Nova Scotia and says her group successfully halted the transfer of Wikie and Keijo to an aquarium in Japan.
Ms. Goodall strongly endorsed the group’s proposal, saying in a letter to Olivier Robinet, France’s general inspector for environment and sustainable development, in February that the Nova Scotia sanctuary offers the whales the opportunity to spend the rest of their lives in a natural setting without being burdened by having to entertain humans while still receiving care.
British behavioural scientist Jane Goodall has written to French officials in support of the Nova Scotia plan for Wikie and Keijo.Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP
The ambitious plan for a coastal refuge for captive whales – a kind of ocean retirement home for cetaceans that have spent their lives performing in amusement parks – has faced delays and setbacks since it was announced in 2020. But organizers of the Whale Sanctuary Project say they’re now pressing ahead on an accelerated plan to accommodate the French orcas off the rocky stretch of Nova Scotia coastline. They propose to temporarily house Wikie and Keijo inside a large bay pen, allowing the orcas to acclimatize while a bigger 40-hectare underwater enclosure is built.
Strong enough to weather nor’easters and hold 4,000-kilogram orcas, the net enclosure would be as big as 50 football fields. It would be crafted of ultrastrong polyethylene, held in place vertically by high-density plastic flotation pipes and chains drilled into the ocean floor.
The Whale Sanctuary Project, a U.S.-based non-profit with 10 employees, still needs to raise roughly US$10-million. The entire project, with a veterinary clinic, viewing tower and staff quarters, is expected to cost US$15-million to US$18-million and then another US$1.5-million to US$2-million to operate each year. The group, which has applied for Canadian charitable status, has a commitment for US$5-million and raised another US$1-million in the past month. It hopes that more donations will flow with the arrival of the whales.
Mr. Vinick said the rural community of Port Hilford is perfect for a few reasons: The tides and nearby open ocean makes for good flushing (for all that whale poop) and it’s well-protected from storms. The water also had to be deep – up to 16 to 18 metres in some areas for the whales to dive and swim.
Ms. Simon, known locally as 'whale girl,' runs the visitors' centre in Sherbrooke and fields a lot of questions about when the orcas will reach Nova Scotia.
Time is precious for the whales in captivity, Ms. Simon says, because they have been dying so quickly.
Amy Simon runs the small clapboard visitors centre for the Whale Sanctuary Project in the nearby village of Sherbrooke. Known to locals as “whale girl,” she says the No. 1 question she hears is: When are the whales coming?
“It’s a million-dollar question,” she said. “It’s time. They’ve been dying so quick in captivity lately.”
The group had been vying to transport four whales from Marineland in Antibes to Nova Scotia, but two died last year. Mr. Vinick said this indicates the animals were in ill health, although it’s unclear what caused their deaths.
Earlier this year, two beluga whales died at Marineland Canada, bringing the total number of whale deaths at the Niagara Falls amusement park to 17 since 2019. Marineland Canada declined a request for comment for this story but has said in the past that its whales are overseen by an Ontario regulator and cared for daily by in-house vets.
In 2019, Canada imposed a similar law to France, but it didn’t extend to marine mammals already in captivity. Marineland Canada has more than 30 belugas and four dolphins. Mr. Vinick said he has spoken to Marineland Canada’s owner about bringing some of their belugas to Nova Scotia.
With a report from The Canadian Press