Whale Expert Who Helped Real-Life Free Willy Is Fighting to Save 2 Orcas at Shutdown Marine Park (Exclusive)

• Dave Phillips was one of the numerous whale experts who helped the orca star of Free Willy return to the wild

• Now, Phillips is working to help two other whales in captivity at a closed marine park in France

• Animal lovers are fighting to move killer whales Wikie and Keijo to a sea sanctuary in Canada

After helping Free Willy taste freedom, Dave Phillips is working to give two other orcas a life outside captivity,

Phillips, a director of the International Marine Mammal Project at Earth Island Institute, was one the first people tapped to help with the ambitious project of returning the whale actor from Free Willy to the wild.

The orca Keiko was taken from the wild as a young whale before spending most of his life in captivity. Once fans, especially children, of the 1993 film learned that the animal star didn't enjoy the same freedoms as the whale in the movie, they pushed Warner Brothers to change things for the killer whale.

These pleas led to a rewilding effort that spanned years and multiple countries. Phillips said it had "no roadmap at all " because it was a first-of-its-kind endeavor. Keiko's journey and the final result of the rewilding project were covered in "The Good Whale," a 2024 podcast from "Serial" and The New York Times.

Phillips tells PEOPLE he hopes the podcast and the reemergence of Keiko's amazing story inspire animal lovers to assist two orcas who need help now: Wikie and Keijo.

Wikie, 23, and her 11-year-old son Keijo have spent their entire lives in captivity and currently reside at Marineland Antibes in the French Riviera. The pair are the only captive orcas in France. According to the BBC, Marineland Antibes officially closed on Jan 5 in response to legislation passed in 2021 banning the use of dolphins and whales in marine zoo shows in France. The legislation will go into effect next year.

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Following the closure, the marine park's workers and animal residents, including Wikie and Keijo, have uncertain futures. While Phillips agrees that the legislation overall is "good news" for animals, he worries about what will happen to the mother-son orca duo.

Phillips tells PEOPLE that Marineland Antibes has expressed interest in selling and sending the killer whales to another marine park. Initially, Marineland Antibes planned to send the orcas to a park in Japan, but they encountered pushback from animal rights activists and the French government, which cited Japan's laxer marine animal protection laws.

Marineland Antibes is still considering sending Wikie and Keijo to another marine park, but Phillips and other animal rights supporters are pushing to move them to a sea sanctuary instead.

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Because both orcas were born in captivity, neither animal is a good candidate for release into the wild. According to Phillips, a sea sanctuary — a secured area of open ocean where whales indulge in natural behavior with no demands to perform — would be the next best thing to freedom.

The Whale Sanctuary Project is closing off dozens of acres of seawater in a Canadian bay to provide Wikie and Keijo a life that encourages relaxation and curiosity.

"They would have much more space and natural seawater," Phillips says of some of the sea sanctuary's many perks.

"They need to go to a retirement, into a sanctuary. From all points of view, it's so much better that they're not performing," he adds.

According to Phillips, members of the French government also agree with this plan.

"The French government appointed an inspector general to analyze Wikie and Keijo's situation and recommend what the government should do. That inspector general did a very thorough report, 150 pages, and sought information from the public, other captive facilities, and aquariums from around the world. They came up with a really landmark recommendation saying that they highly recommended that the two orcas go to a seaside sanctuary," he explains, adding that the inspector general specifically recommended the sanctuary The Whale Sanctuary Project is constructing in a Nova Scotia bay.

Philips says that since the inspector general's recommendation, no moves have been made to mandate that Marineland Antibes send its remaining orcas to a sanctuary, which means the marine park could still sell the animals to another facility.

Animal lovers can help encourage the French government and Marineland Antibes to move Wikie and Keijo to a sea sanctuary by signing a petition and sharing the whales' story. Phillips is confident a chorus of outspoken voices can lead to change because it happened with Keiko.

"We can be a rising effort. After the Free Willy movie, one of the biggest things that made it possible for us to help Keiko was the level of public support. There were a lot of kids who were hit by Free Willy so hard. They just were so taken by it that they wanted to see something happen. Those folks pushed for changes in lots of ways," Phillips says.

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"The Keiko legacy is about helping other whales in captivity and getting them out of concrete tanks," he adds.

To read the petition and sign, visit KeikoProject.org. Those curious about the current numbers of orcas in captivity and what can be done to help them are encouraged to visit InternationalMarineMammalProject.org

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