5 hours agoShareSaveGeorge SandemanBBC NewsShareSaveTideBreakersRehoming animals after the closure of a zoo is often difficult, particularly for larger animals which require bigger facilities and higher levels of care.When Living Coasts, a marine zoo in Devon, announced its closure in 2020, managers warned they might have to euthanise animals for whom they could not find new homes. Eventually places were found for all of them.After Orsa Predator Park in Sweden shut in 2022, some of their polar bears did not find new homes until the following year. Two of the bears were transported to Suffolk but one died shortly after arriving.Following a request by a French court, an expert assessment is being carried out of Marineland’s facilities and whether the orcas, and a dozen dolphins also still housed there, should be moved.The French ecology ministry told us: “A task force set up by the ministry is working, under the aegis of the environment ambassador Barbara Pompili, to define a coordinated strategy at the European level for the care of orcas and dolphins, particularly those at Marineland.”For Marketa Schusterova, a videographer who co-founded TideBreakers, the situation for Wikie and Keijo is bleak. She says: “We have been advocating for a temporary tank to be built and expedited until a sanctuary is ready, but we’re worried that we are past that point. Time is running out.”More Weekend Picks …
