This January 5 was the last day the Marineland park in Antibes was open to the public in the Alpes-Maritimes. Director of Marineland for 26 years, this former trainer denounces the closure of the marine park that he saw built in 1970. Interview.
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He was there for the very first orca show and was keen to finish the story by attending the last one. This Sunday, January 5, among the thousands of spectators in the stands, a discreet Englishman – cap, sunglasses – grumbles. Mike Riddell was director of Marineland for 26 years. It is not at all the permanent closure of the park. And intends to make his rant heard.
I am very angry very. It's a monumental waste.
Mike Riddell, former director of Marineland
“Earlier, we saw the show, it is a communion between the animals, the caregivers and the public. A very strong communion. All of this is broken for nothing. Today, One Voice proclaims a monumental victory , but in reality, it's a disaster There are 100 people who will find themselves unemployed. Nobody knows where to put the animals.
One Voice has proposed something totally unrealistic, which will not take place, which is not funded, we do not know where it is. And then finally, they say, it's better that the animals stay at Marineland in the back. All of this is a scandal! And I am extremely angry with successive ministers and in particular Ségolène Royal who signed a decree on the corner of a table when leaving her ministry the day before leaving her post.
It's a scandal. And no one talks about the staff. You saw them at the orca show. They have university educations. They will be replaced by employee ride operators. What the fuck?”
I've been here since April 70. That is to say the first show that took place here, I was the one who did it. June 10, 1970 at 2 p.m. I had to be there to see the last one.
Mike Riddell, former director of Marineland
“I saw animals there in perfect health. I have rarely seen orcas in such good health. They have shiny skin, they are fat, they are dynamic. One Voice tells us they are very, very sick. Bullshit. All this is to get members to make donations. It’s a scam.”
Asked about the idea of a natural sanctuary, here too, the man does not mince his words:
“Of course, it would be perfect but it's utopian, it can't exist. Let's imagine the project that One Voice has in mind: they want to go to the Canadian east coast, to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, whatever. Y' nothing there. What will happen? They will close an arm of the sea, they will put a fence and the orcas will become the tourist attraction of the country. will be very expensive to operate, we will make the public pay to return. That is to say a Marineland again in Canada. Nothing changes.
“It's a monumental waste. This arena is what it is. It could be bigger of course. It can always be bigger. We made it as big as possible given the technical constraints of the ground. The pool is 11 meters deep here, it's already colossal. It could be bigger. If I could, I would.
We are in a total impasse, the minister does not know what to do. One voice says anything. The animals are not sick, there is no emergency. So they say, “Leave them there.” Except that Marineland will no longer have any revenue, so who will pay? At the beginning Marineland will pay, that’s clear. But at some point, Marineland's shareholders are going to say no, we can't pour capital into this at a loss.”
Fifty-five years after its opening, the park permanently closed to the public this Sunday evening. Victim of a drop in attendance and the 2021 law banning cetacean shows, the future of the animals and the premises is still uncertain.
Mike Riddell, founder and general manager of Marineland, poses on May 4, 2000 in Antibes, in front of the construction site of the new orca basin which is scheduled to open in June 2000
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© PATRICE LAPOIRIE / AFP
“I blame the current managers of this park who have no knowledge of animals. I created this tank. We went around the world to find out how to make an orca tank as best as possible with glass etc. We fought for this thing. This arena was built in 11 months between the first groundbreaking and the first public who came to see the animals. This effort came from the guts.”
Currently it belongs to American pension funds, there are no more guts.
Mike Riddell, former director of Marineland
“It’s purely that Marineland is currently not profitable. We can even imagine that associations like One Voice are objective allies of Marineland shareholders. They want the same thing. Marineland will be delighted not to pay expensive animals, expensive caregivers, and replace them with minimum wage. And who says that part of the land will not be sold to create buildings like Marina. It's all a huge hoax and I'm still very angry.”
When the park's closure was announced on December 4, its management mentioned the difficulties linked to legislation and also serious economic problems, reporting frequent attendance “from 1.2 million to 425,000 visitors per year” in 10 years.
