SeaQuest files for bankruptcy amid animal cruelty investigations
The US aquarium chain has faced multiple undercover investigations that have exposed animal suffering and fatalities that could have been prevented.
The US aquarium chain SeaQuest has filed for bankruptcy as part of the fallout from various animal cruelty investigations in recent years.
The company has operated multiple mall aquariums across the US since launching its first location back in 2016.
But SeaQuest has long faced concerns over its animal welfare standards, with multiple years-long undercover investigations from news outlets and welfare groups uncovering animal abuse that has resulted in the suffering and even deaths of “countless” animals.
Now this week the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which helps struggling companies reorganize and restructure debts while remaining in operation. This means its remaining five locations will remain open for business while it seeks to manage its over $10 million in liabilities.
In the filing, records showed a significant drop in profits for SeaQuest, with revenue of $27.2 million in 2022 falling by almost half to $15.28 million in 2024.
“SeaQuest’s financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing business model, as compassionate consumers don’t want to fork over their dollars to look at fish, otters, and birds suffering in cramped, filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters,” said Rebecca Smudzinski, Director of Captive Wildlife at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The business’s struggle to attract customers comes after reports of animal welfare failings at SeaQuest facilities have continued to mount.
In the weeks before the bankruptcy filing, SeaQuest closed its location in Fort Worth, Texas, following two separate undercover investigations.
One of the investigations, conducted by campaign group PETA, released whistleblower testimony from three former SeaQuest Fort Worth employees who alleged that mistreatment at the facility had led to the suffering and deaths of dozens of animals.
Incidents included two nurse sharks, known as Icarus and Achilles, who likely starved to death, and dozens of marine animals who reportedly suffocated to death in plastic bags while being transported from another SeaQuest location.
A dead shark in a tank at SeaQuest Fort Worth. Credit: PETA
Another investigation also released within the last month found similar failings. Two facilities were investigated by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and its findings summarized SeaQuest as “a sad spectacle of hungry animals begging for food, humans getting injured, and even animals dying.”
The report by HSUS particularly highlighted the cruelty of SeaQuest’s public interactions with wild animals, where “even animals clearly stressed by human contact or suffering from health issues were forced to participate in paid encounters”. This was part of what the report called a “disturbing culture” at SeaQuest, in which the operator “prioritized monkey-making interactions over providing basic animal care.”
These two recent investigations show a familiar pattern across SeaQuest facilities, with the mall aquarium chain having already been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than 110 times for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
We Have A Favor To Ask…
Species Unite amplifies well-researched solutions to some of the most abusive animal industries operating today.
At this crucial moment, with worldwide momentum for change building, it’s vital we share these animal-free solutions with the world - and we need your help.
We’re a nonprofit, and so to keep sharing these solutions, we’re relying on you - with your support, we can continue our essential work in growing a powerful community of animal advocates this year.
