Miami Seaquarium faces closure after series of poor inspection reports
The decision by the county also comes just five months after the death of the Seaquarium’s iconic orca, Lolita the Killer Whale.
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In an unprecedented and “sign-of-the-times” decision, Miami-Dade County officials are moving to effectively close the troubled Miami Seaquarium.
The marine park on Key Biscayne has been dogged by a series of setbacks and serious failures in its animal care practices. Just this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates animal exhibits at theme parks, released another damning report that found urgent deficiencies in a broad range of attractions.
The USDA review found two dolphin pools in disrepair, with several of the mammals ill, issues in the sea lion pen, problems with the penguin’s facility and enclosure as well as “multiple indoor and outdoor metal enclosures that showed evidence of excessive rust” in an aviary.
The report also faulted the Seaquarium for lacking in “trained” personnel. It stated: “Based on the number of non-compliant items identified in this report, this facility does not have enough adequately trained employees that can maintain the professional acceptable level of husbandry and handling practices for the animals in their collection.”
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Activists have “champagne on ice” as county seeks end of Miami Seaquarium
While the park is privately owned, it operates on land leased from Miami-Dade County, giving local officials a say in whether it operates or not.
A statement from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Raquel Regalado, whose district includes the park, reportedly noted “these violations are a breach of the terms and conditions outlined” in the lease agreement and the county is “reviewing all necessary actions to pursue the termination of the Amended and Restated Lease Agreement.”
PETA, the animal rights organization that has been a prime watchdog on the marine park, hailed the county’s decision. In a statement, executive vice president Tracy Reiman said the “beginning of the end for this animal prison” appears to be at hand.
“PETA has champagne on ice and is preparing to celebrate the day the animals are finally freed from the dilapidated concrete tanks where Lolita and so many others lived and died in misery,” the statement said. “We urge Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the county commissioners to act swiftly to shut the Miami Seaquarium down. The animals are ready!”
Decision to yank Seaquarium lease follows death of iconic orca Lolita
The decision by the county also comes just five months after the death of the Seaquarium’s iconic orca, Lolita the Killer Whale. Lolita, also known as Tokitae, had become the focus of a global campaign to seek her release and repatriation to a seaside sanctuary in the Pacific Northwest.
Her death devastated the legions of those who advocated for her. But activist Alejandro Ariel Dintino, who had long campaigned for her release, said he finds solace in the county’s decision.
“It was time to close this facility,” he said. “I still get very sad thinking of what happened to Lolita. But at least the other animals there will now, I hope, have a better life.”
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The Seaqaurium opened in 1955 as what was then billed as the largest marine park in the world. It was a quintessential American roadside attraction that dazzled tourists and locals alike with up-close encounters with wildlife that many had only read about in books about swashbuckling pirates and undersea exploration.
In 1970, the park added Lolita at a time when orca attractions were the hottest ticket in the marine theme park industry. For the Seaquarium, the arrival of Lolita to join a male orca, Hugo, was a competitive ace as the Walt Disney Company stood at the brink of opening the Magic Kingdom and launching Central Florida’s entertainment juggernaut.
Seaquarium stuck to business plan as public soured on performing animal attractions
In the ensuing decades, the Seaquarium showed chronic and serious signs of aging. Other animal attraction theme parks across Florida invested in roller coasters and thrill rides to lessen their dependence on animal exhibits as the public soured on animal performances that seemed circus-like and exploitative.
The Seaquarium, however, stuck with its core business model.
But its animal care efforts and facilities drew the ire of activists as the park logged one poor inspection report and rating after another. Those reviews coincided with growing outrage — and demands for Lolita’s release — over the conditions of her confinement in a tank widely agreed was too small for an oceanic apex predator.
In August 2021, the Dolphin Company bought the Seaquarium’s operations and holdings. The Dolphin Company, which also owns Gulf World in Panama City and Marineland in St. Augustine, set out to work with activists to free and relocate Lolita as a goodwill gesture.
Those efforts ended on Aug. 18 when the orca, said to be just shy of 60 years of age, unexpectedly passed away. Since then, the pressure has been on the Seaqaurium and county officials to improve conditions at the park for the remaining animals.
The county, this week, appeared to lose patience.
The Dolphin Company has not publicly stated whether it will accede to the county canceling the lease or seek to continue operating the Seaquarium.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
