Miami Seaquarium Set to Close As County Officials Issue Eviction Notice
Officials cited a “long and troubling history of violations” at the venue, which has faced years of backlash over its animal welfare standards.
Lolita performing at Miami Seaquarium. Credit: Piotr Domaradzki, Miami, FL, 1998
After years of mounting controversies including animal welfare violations and more than 100 animal deaths, the Miami Seaquarium has been ordered to close by government officials.
The Miami-Dade County, which leases the property to Miami Seaquarium, has issued a lease termination notice and ordered the marine theme park to vacate the property by April 21, reports the Associated Press.
The eviction notice comes after what the County describes as a “long and troubling history of violations” for the Miami Seaquarium.
At a news conference, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that the “continuous violations” include “decaying animal habitats, lack of veterinary staff and a lack of other experienced staff.”
Animal Welfare Concerns
“Our number one priority continues to be the safety and wellbeing of the animals,” the mayor added.
The County’s decision follows reports from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which visited the marine theme park several times over the last two years, and consistently found violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Several of the issues were repeat violations, showing that any efforts to fix problems had not been successful.
Citations issued include unsafe environments for the animals, including sharp metal, rust, and mold in the building that houses penguins, and bacteria levels in the sea lion pool so high that it was unsafe for divers to clean the enclosure.
The health of the captive animals has also been documented in the government report, with the USDA finding that some dolphins had dangerous foreign objects in their mouths and throats, including a 2-inch nail and a broken bolt, as well as a manatee who was covered with large skin lesions.
It is reported that the Miami Seaquarium employed only one veterinarian to care for all of its animals, which includes 46 marine mammals, 50 birds, and hundreds of fish.
In addition to these violations, the Miami Seaquarium faced a long term campaign over its mistreatment of Tokitae, who was known as the world’s oldest orca in captivity until her death last year. Also known by her stage name Lolita, the orca was taken from the wild back in 1970 and spent the next five decades in a small tank at the Miami Seaquarium where she was forced to perform two to three times a day.
While Miami Seaquarium is expected to attempt to fight the eviction notice, animal welfare campaigners welcomed the news that the County authorities had finally taken action to help protect the animals.
“The world watched as the Miami Seaquarium let the lone orca Lolita waste away and die, allowed animals to eat trash in crumbling enclosures, and ignored its attending veterinarian’s instructions until she finally resigned—but now the world can cheer at the news that help is finally on the way for the long-suffering animals held captive there,” said PETA Vice President Tracy Reiman.
Legislation Aims to End Whale Captivity in US
After years of high-profile controversies at the likes of Miami Seaquarium and SeaWorld, public awareness around the ethical issues involved in keeping marine animals in captivity is at an all-time high.
The 2013 documentary Blackfish brought the tragic story of SeaWorld’s captive orca Tilikum to global audiences, and subsequent dolphin attacks and whale deaths have kept US marine theme parks in the national spotlight ever since.
With public support for marine theme parks falling in recent years, campaigners and politicians are pushing for kinder solutions that focus on strengthening education and conservation efforts rather than animal performances and capturing more animals from the wild.
The Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act, which was reintroduced earlier this year, aims to phase out the keeping of large whales in captivity in the US.
The legislation would outlaw the captive display of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales.
With around 50 whales currently living in captivity in the US, the bill would not apply to existing animals but help facilities to transition to the new laws and ensure no new whales are brought into captivity in the future.
“Science increasingly supports the conclusion that we cannot provide conditions in a concrete enclosure to accommodate the size, wide-ranging nature, and physiological and social needs of these four species,” Dr. Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), said in a statement when the legislation was announced.
A Kinder Future for Whales is Possible
The reintroduction of the SWIMS Act builds upon other successes around the world that also aim towards a future where marine animals like orcas and beluga whales can stay in the wild rather than being kept in captivity.
Canada is leading the way on this issue with the passing of the so-called “Free Willy” bill in 2019, which outlawed the trade, possession, capture, and breeding of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The bill effectively ended the unnatural practice of using cetaceans for entertainment or keeping them in captivity in the country.
There is also positive progress being made in creating new animal sanctuaries where formerly-captive marine animals can live the remainder of their lives in more natural environments. These sanctuaries typically incorporate large, protected, designated areas in real-world oceans.
In one promising example, a pair of belugas whales who once performed at an aquarium in China were successfully relocated to the world’s first open-water sanctuary for belugas, located in Iceland’s Klettsvik Bay.
Help keep up this momentum for marine animals: join Species Unite in urging US congress to pass the Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act. Add your name to the petition here.
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