Male ‘sexually stimulated’ to avoid inbreeding

In a closed marine zoo, a male killer whale is being sexually stimulated by his trainers to prevent inbreeding with their mother.

Marinland antibase closed in January But managers, French government and animal rights activists have not agreed to where or how the orkas should be re -connected.

This stops ahead of a French law effective in December, which ban the use of whales in the marine zoo.

This deadlock means that the pair – Vicky, 24, and her 11 -year -old son Kejo – are still being kept in their pool and are being taken care of by their trainers in the convenience in southern France.

Last week, the activist group tideBreckers received overhead footage, showing two trainers standing next to the Kijo standing on the banks of a pool as it is upside down.

One trainer holds a flipper as the other stimulates the whale, which can be seen writing in water.

Vicky can be seen in a adjacent pool, where his son is being held. Keeping them in separate pools is permanently considered harmful to their good because orkas are sociable animals.

The footage was taken on 12 August and the manager in Marinland tells BBC News that action was necessary as Kejo is reaching adolescence and rapidly makes strong sexual urges.

“To avoid inbreeding with her mother, but to prevent them from fighting and injuring them, Marinland decided to sexually stimulate Kejo. [to relieve him of his] Tension. ,

The manager says: “However, it is natural and completely painless for animals.”

The Ministry of French Ecology, which should approve where the orkas has been placed, says they were informed by Marinland that Kejo is being stimulated once a month and a veterinary specialist has been consulted about the process.

Valerie Green, a member of the Tidbrekers working in the Civil Orlando for a decade, told us that the stimulation of Kijo for sexual relief is uncommon.

“As a former killer whale trainer, I have never seen this behavior for anything other than trying to use semen for use in artificial insemination.”

Female orkas, captives captive in marine zoos, can be artificially conceived to reproduce more calves, which can later be used to attract more visitors and perform in shows.

This was quite common until the last decade when laws were passed in countries including France and the United States, banning many reproduction practices.

However, the breeding laws in Japan are less strict and activists believe that the managers of the marine zoo may be interested in buying Occa semen after the country’s only male, Orca, Earth, died on 3 August.

Just a week after his death, the trainers of Marinland were seen stimulating Kijo.

Green says: “Kijo is inbread, so it is even more that its semen can be used for breeding captive orcas.” Kijo has half brother and father.

Marineland managers denied that Kejo was motivated. They add semen sales are prohibited and any export will require authority from the French government.

The French Ecology Ministry says that Marinland has also told him that there is no intention of collecting and exporting Occa semen for reproductive purposes.

“Despite the logic, it is sad that this is a priority when Kijo should be strictly saved because his atmosphere is unsafe,” Green is called.

“The perception that instructors are providing sexual relief to an orca … the imprisonment industry has a new low in insolvency practices.”

• November 2024: Ecological Minister Agans Panier-Rankar rejected an application from Marinland to move orkas to a marine zoo in Japan.

• January 2025: Marineland Antibes conducts his last show before it closes down. The activist group orkas asks to be taken to a proposed whale sanctuary in Canada, but it is rejected by the Ministry of Ecology.

Since then there has been no significant development that the pair can end and no European sanctuary site has been developed for them.

Concerns about situations in Marineland are also increasing and whether it is safe for wiki and keys to live there.

Two weeks ago, Pannier-Rankar released another Instagram video in which he tried to overcome the apprehensions about the welfare of the orkas and said that regular inspections of the pool were taking place.

Catherine Wise, Wildlife Campaign Manager in Charity World Animal Protection, who is monitoring the situation, tells us: “It is advisable to say that the inactivity of the French government comes when it comes to enabling options for these animals, and is unchanged to communicate with organizations involved in developing professional sanctuary options. [in rehoming them],

Animals are difficult to recur after the closure of the zoo, especially for large animals that require large features and high level care.

When the coasts living in a marine zoo in Devon announced their closure in 2020, managers warned that they might have to erupt the animals for which they could not get new houses. Eventually, there was a place for all of them.

After the ORSA Predator Park closed in Sweden in 2022, some of his polar bears could not find new houses until next year. Two Bear was taken to Safok But shortly after arriving, one died.

Following a request by a French court, a specialist assessment is being excluded from Marinland’s features and what orkas, and a dozen dolphins are still placed there, they should be moved.

The French Ecology Ministry told us: “A task force established by the ministry is working, under the aegis of the environmental ambassador Barbara Pompili, to define a coordinated strategy at the European level for the care of orkas and dolphins, especially in Marinland.”

For Marketa Shoustarova, a videographer who co-establishs the tidebreakers, the situation for Vicky and Kijo is tarnished.

She says: “We are advocating for a temporary tank and until a sanctuary is ready, it is intensified, but we are worried that we are the past from that point. The time is going out.”