The French marine mammal park Marineland was permanently closed due to a law banning animal shows. The future of the country's last two captive orcas, hundreds of other animals and dozens of employees is uncertain.
The park's closure was marked by the final show of orcas, Vicky and Keijo, who were greeted with thunderous applause from visitors.
Attendance has dropped sharply in recent years, but many people have expressed their concern. The park was the largest in all of Europe.
"Our hearts are in pieces," said Salome Mathis, who remains unemployed.
Animal activists were angered by Marineland's plans to transfer its two orcas to Japan, a move that the French ecology minister also opposed because of Tokyo's weaker legislation.
The future of 4,000 other animals from 150 different species, including dolphins, sea lions, turtles and fish, also remains unclear.
In March, Marineland was hit by a storm of controversy after two of its orcas died within five months of each other.
The park, located near Antibes on the French Riviera, has about 4,000 animals of 150 different species. Visitor numbers have fallen significantly from 1.2 million a year in its heyday, when it was the Cote d'Azur's leading attraction, to just 425,000 in the past decade.
It employed 103 permanent staff and around 500 seasonal workers. | BGNES, AFP
