France’s highest administrative court on Monday reversed [decision, in French] the ban on breeding killer whales and dolphins in captivity.

The Council of State’s decision to annul the ministerial decree comes less than a year after it was signed. They cited irregularities in the consultation process as their reason for revoking the order.

The ban was the previous administration’s attempt to improve [Reuters report] the living conditions of marine mammals that were being held in captivity. Monday’s decision granted the requests of many of the marine parks that have asked the Council of State to cancel the ban. The owners believed that the ban would lead to an “alteration of the natural behavior of animals and diminished protection for marine life.” They also argued that the decree was adopted following an irregular procedure.

The court agreed noting [press release, in French] the elimination of reference to bottlenose dolphins from the version submitted for consultation in the final version.

The Council of State went on to say that the prohibition on breeding marine animals, particularly bottlenose dolphins, would threaten the existence of marine parks in the country.