Miami Seaquarium Cited in September 2023 Inspection Report

The Miami Seaquarium was cited over understaffing issues and animal-safety concerns in a damning federal inspection report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that was recently made available following a July 2023 inspection.

Miami-Dade County officials assured the public that things would change at the Miami Seaquarium—where earlier this year the long-suffering orca Lolita died in a tiny tank—yet this latest USDA report proves that animals there continue to suffer.

The feds cited the Miami Seaquarium for creating a stressful environment for humans and other animals.

The notorious facility was cited for apparently doing the following:

• Having vacancies in vital staff positions, including veterinarian and vet tech roles, which left a single veterinarian responsible for the care of almost 50 marine mammals and hundreds of birds, fish, and other animals
• Failing to prevent a dolphin from biting a patron’s hand during an interactive session
• Allowing a dolphin to ingest plastic, sand, glass filtration materials, and a chunk of cement from a deteriorating tank
• Failing to provide a manatee kept in isolation with adequate shade from the sun
• Housing a dolphin with incompatible tankmates, leading to the animal sustaining multiple bilateral rib fractures

PETA is urging Miami-Dade County officials to shut down this abusement park and compel it to send the animals to seaside sanctuaries, where they would finally be able to start recovering from their lifetime of trauma.

Conscientious people should stay far away from the Miami Seaquarium and every other marine park that exploits animals for entertainment.

Urge the Miami Seaquarium to Send Dolphins to a Seaside Sanctuary

Plans to move Lolita to a seaside sanctuary came too late, and she was denied even a minute of freedom to dive deep and feel the ocean’s currents. While it’s too late for Lolita, it’s not too late for the dolphins still suffering at the marine park.

Please politely urge The Dolphin Company—the owner of the Miami Seaquarium—to release the remaining dolphins at the facility to a seaside sanctuary: