Animals. Due to lack of resources, the Beauval zoo will not welcome dolphins from Marineland Antibes
The general director of the ZooParc de Beauval, Rodolphe Delord, announced to AFP this Tuesday that he was abandoning his project for a dolphin reception center, intended in particular to accommodate certain cetaceans from Marineland in Antibes.
A decision justified, according to Rodolphe Delord, by the cost of the project, now estimated at 45 million euros, compared to 25 to 30 million initially, the legal recourses initiated against it, but also the lack of commitment from the government.
“The legal and financial uncertainties which weigh on the project today do not allow us to carry it out under acceptable conditions,” declared Rodolphe Delord, also referring to “the government’s refusal that part of the financing can benefit from a State guarantee”.
A project imagined “at the request of the government”
A year ago, the project described as “out of the norm” and imagined “at the request of the government and certain associations”, was presented as a viable solution for the dolphins of Marineland Antibes, whose fate remains uncertain since the closure of the park in January 2025.
The structure, which was to extend over two and a half hectares of surface area, included around ten pools, including three immense lagoons, and thus become a center for studies, scientific research and dolphin conservation.
“We planned to welcome around 25 dolphins”, including at least eight of the twelve cetaceans from Marineland in Antibes and “eleven from Planète Sauvage”, an animal park located near Nantes, recalled Rodolphe Delord. As soon as the project was made official, around ten NGOs, including C’est Enssez! and One Voice, were opposed to it, going so far as to file several legal appeals and organize rallies.
Dolphins could be sent to theme parks in Asia
They denounced in particular the reproduction of cetaceans in captivity and the possibility of transfers, which they consider contrary to the provisions of the 2021 law on animal welfare. Others, like Sea Shepherd, said they were taking a “pragmatic approach” by supporting Beauval’s idea, with no other credible solution for these dolphins. “The reproduction of a dolphin is limited and controlled,” defended Rodolphe Delord, believing that “opposing is not enough.”
Eight of the twelve dolphins from Marineland Antibes, closed in January 2025, were transferred to Spain in July, to a park in Benalmádena, near Malaga, in southern Spain. Without Beauval, they could ultimately be sent to Asia, to “hotels or amusement parks”, according to Rodolphe Delord. “We are really worried about their future,” he concluded. Beauval Zoo welcomed two million visitors and achieved 113 million euros in turnover in 2023.
The two orcas from Marineland could join the Loro Parque in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Their departure, announced for June, was delayed by several months due to ongoing discussions within the Spanish park, according to Marineland management.
