'Disturbing' footage of a male orca being 'stimulated' by trainers to prevent inbreeding in France has sparked outrage.
Marineland Antibes in southern France closed down in January, but park managers, the French government, and animal rights activists have not yet agreed on where the killer whales should be rehomed.
This means that orcas Wikie, 24, and her 11-year-old son Keijo, are having to be kept in their pools while being looked after by their trainers at the marine park.
Last week, activist group TideBreakers obtained overhead footage, taken on August 12, showing two trainers kneeling by the edge of a pool next to the male animal as he lies upside down.
One trainer is seen holding onto one of the whale's flippers while the other stimulates the whale as it moves around in the pool. This is in an attempt to stop Keijo inbreeding with his mother.
