SeaQuest Fort Worth closes amid animal cruelty investigation
The aquarium chain has shut its Texas location after whistleblower reports revealed animal abuse including sharks likely starving to death and marine animals dying in plastic bags during transport.
SeaQuest has closed one of its locations following multiple claims of animal cruelty.
The chain of mall aquariums has five locations across the US.
But a sixth location in Fort Worth, Texas, has now shut its doors this week after mounting pressure from campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a shocking whistleblower report compiling animal abuse at the facility.
PETA obtained 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.
Neglected animals mentioned in the report include two nurse sharks, known as Icarus and Achilles, who likely starved to death as a result of extreme stress from being confined in a small, cramped tank with 10 other animals.
A dead shark in a tank at SeaQuest Fort Worth. Credit: PETA
Employees said they raised concerns with SeaQuest after the sharks were noted to have stopped eating normally, but the facility is alleged to have dismissed the remarks and refused to address the issue.
Another incident included in the report detailed how dozens of marine animals reportedly died in plastic bags while being transported from another SeaQuest location to SeaQuest Fort Worth.
“The fish were shipped in black trash bags or other coolers”, a whistleblower said. “There was no effort made to ensure the fish were shipped within the right parameters for the species.”
The animals who died are thought to have suffocated to death in the plastic bags during the transport process.
As the whistleblower testimony explains, “three (3) grey smooth hound sharks shipped in black trash bags died. The bags were so small their bodies were curved. Very little water was put in each bag. They all suffocated to death.”
Other avoidable deaths in the report include gourami who died after staff were instructed by SeaQuest to put them in a tank that was too cold for their natural temperature requirements, and koi who “endured likely excruciating deaths” after being left in a tank with toxic levels of ammonia.
According to PETA, which filed a complaint to local authorities over the whistleblower report, the Fort Worth Police Department has now opened a criminal cruelty-to-animals investigation into the SeaQuest Fort Worth facility.
The facility had already received citations under the federal Animal Welfare Act, including for failing to properly handle a sloth and cat, both of whom bit visitors during interactions, and for a duck enclosure that was covered in feces and old food waste.
“Champagne corks are popping at PETA now that this blight on beautiful Fort Worth has finally stopped exploiting animals and endangering the public,” says PETA Director Molly Johnson. “The SeaQuest chain is a scourge, and PETA will continue to call out its dreadful and deadly petting zoos until every location follows suit and closes.”
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