Whale refuge group in Nova Scotia says France seeking talks about moving two whales

The site for a proposed whale sanctuary is seen in an area south of Port Hilford, N.S., in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Whale Sanctuary Project (Mandatory Credit) (HO)

HALIFAX — The group behind a plan to build a coastal refuge for captive whales in Nova Scotia says the government of France intends to work with them on a strategy to bring two killer whales to the proposed site.

The U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project issued a statement saying the efforts come a year after a marine theme park in the south of France was closed, stranding the orcas Wikie and her son Keijo.

In January of this year, the French government rejected the Whale Sanctuary Project’s initial bid to provide refuge for the whales, saying the sanctuary wouldn’t be ready in time.

The Whale Sanctuary Project said the French government has “now affirmed” that it will work with the group on a strategy to bring Wikie and Keijo to Nova Scotia.

The sanctuary group said in order to welcome the whales next year, they must have completed construction work by the end of this summer. This is because the whales will need a few months to adapt to their new home before winter.

“To accomplish this, we will need to adhere to a precise timetable that requires having the necessary funding at each stage,” the group said in a statement Friday.

“Right now, we have the funds to begin construction of the sanctuary, but we do not yet have the funds to complete it.”

In October, the Nova Scotia government granted the Whale Sanctuary Project a 20-year lease for 83 hectares of Crown lands and coastal waters near Wine Harbour, N.S.

Under French law, the country’s last two captive orcas must be removed from France by the end of this year, but the Whale Sanctuary Project is still in the early stages of building an oceanside pen on the province’s eastern shore.

Earlier attempts to send the whales to Japan and Spain fell though.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2025.