The ZooParc de Beauval has abandoned its plan to build a rescue and conservation centre in the Loir-et-Cher for dolphins from the shuttered Marineland park in Antibes, according to France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Beauval director Rodolphe Delord said the zoo had already spent more than €1.5 million on studies and administrative groundwork before the project, ultimately costed at around €45 million, was called off, according to Epoch Times France.
Eight of Marineland's twelve remaining dolphins were moved in July to a park near Málaga, Spain, in what was presented as a temporary measure due to the poor condition of the pools at the closed Antibes site, France 3 reported. The remaining four are due to be transferred to a delphinarium in Valencia, Spain, in September, with campaign groups divided over whether either arrangement offers a lasting solution.
France's ecology ministry said in a statement reported by Epoch Times France that it regretted the collapse of the Beauval project, having viewed it as meeting the highest scientific and animal welfare standards.