KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – The United States Department of Agriculture has outlined troubling findings at the Miami Seaquarium, indicating numerous facility failures and a dolphin with rib fractures while another had cement in its digestive tract.
A recently published USDA report – prepared in late-September – documents the disturbing findings found during a July inspection of the Miami Seaquarium, operated by The Dolphin Company through its subsidiary MS Leisure Company, Inc.
“Over the last several years the Miami Seaquarium has been cited for so many violations of the bare minimum standards of the Federal Animal Welfare Act,” said Jared Goodman, General Counsel for Animal Law with The PETA Foundation. “I can confidently say that these three inspection reports combined are by far worse than what we have seen at any other marine facility, ever.”
USDA, APHIS and Animal Care Veterinary Medical Officer Charles Palmer notes in the document dated Sept. 27, that during a routine inspection on July 17, “the facility failed to recognize veterinary authority.”
On “numerous occasions” the document states, records show that the attending veterinarian’s “determinations were not followed, or her authority was ignored.”
“They have proven unwilling or unable to become compliant with the law,” said Goodman. “So it is time for the county to finally take action and terminate the Seaquarium’s lease and shut the facility down.”
The report also states that the facility has “failed to provide proper equipment or services to ensure adequate veterinary care” and failure “to maintain a marine mammal enclosure in good repair and protect the animals from injury.”
Zip ties and cement:
“Elelo” was a young white-sided dolphin that would later be urgently transferred to a facility in Chicago. The report states that found in his digestive tract was, “a plastic zip tie; a piece of broken plastic; and, what was described as a large piece of cement. Zip ties are used to secure the fencing around the sides of the pool, the broken plastic was determined to likely be from a target pole, and divers noted that the floor of the pool has a layer of broken, flaking cement.”
The report also stated the facility, “failed to maintain a sufficient number of adequately trained employees…insufficient staffing can result in poor husbandry practices and the inability of the veterinary team to provide routine care and maintenance of the animals.”
Rib fractures:
Listed under the sub headline “critical,” the report says a “CT scan” of “‘Bimini” revealed the 23-year-old female dolphin, housed at Dolphin Harbor, had multiple bilateral rib fractures in various stages of healing…likely caused by conspecific aggression.”
The report states that “housing incompatible animas together can negatively impact their health and welfare and may cause serious injury and even death.”
“How many more animals does this hellhole need to torment before it accepts that all the world wants from it is a ‘permanently closed’ sign?,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman asks in a statement to Local 10 News. “Miami Dade County lawmakers living in fantasyland assured the public that things would change for the better at the Seaquarium, yet this report proves that’s not happening at all. Peta is calling on officials to shut the facility down and ensure that the dolphins and all the animals there are sent to sanctuaries, where they would finally start recovering from their lifetime of trauma and get the care they so desperately need.”
Lonely manatee:
The report also tells the story of Romeo, an adult male manatee being housed alone following the release of three juvenile manatees to the wild in the spring of 2023.
“Although numerous attempts have been made to acquire another manatee it was determined the facility did not yet meet the requirements to receive another animal. Manatees are semi-social animals and do better medically and psychologically when they are housed in pairs or groups.”
Back in March of 2022, Miami-Dade County’s Mayor’s Office celebrated a lease transfer to MS Leisure Company, inc. – a subsidiary of The Dolphin Company.
Since then, the USDA has issued a series of violation warnings, and findings that document animals hurt and in distress,
Its captive orca Lolita died of “old age and multiple chronic illnesses,”, followed by the transfer of several dolphins to other marine parks to include the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, which told Local 10′s Christina Vazquez in August it “responded to an urgent need to provide sanctuary”….for dolphins Loke and Elelo, “from the miami seaquarium living in insufficient environmental conditions.”
In September, the company decided to bypass a full inspection by International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) inspectors by choosing to not renew accreditation for its trainers.
Local 10 News has reached out to the mayor’s office and County Commissioner Raquel Regalado’s office about the USDA’s recently published findings and whether the company is in violation with its county agreement. Local 10 News has also reached out to the company for comment on the USDA’s report.
Dolphin bites girl:
The recent USDA report also states that in March of 2023 “a member of the public was bitten on the hand by ‘Gemini’, a dolphin housed at dolphin harbor, during a ‘meet and greet’ interaction” after the dolphin “broke from station and swam toward the group of guests as they had their hands on the surface of the water, waiting to touch the other dolphin as she swam by. As trainers instructed the guests to withdraw their limbs, ‘Gemini’ popped up and grabbed one of the guest’s hands. The girl pulled per hand back with ‘Gemini’s’ mouth still closed. ‘Gemini’ let go but stayed in front of the guests as they stoop up. Inadequate handling or control of animals during public interactions can lead to injury of the public and the animals.”
The report comes after USDA tells Local 10 News they previously initiated enforcement action, warning the company of alleged violations of federal laws to include the handling of animals and providing adequate veterinary care.
Statement from USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Legislative and Public Affairs Spokesperson:
“APHIS takes its mission to ensure the humane treatment of animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act(AWA) very seriously. We continue to conduct inspections and work with facilities to ensure they are in compliance with regulations under the AWA. You may access inspection histories for all of our licensed facilities on our public search tool. When we find issues that bring facilities out of compliance with the AWA regulations, we work hard to bring them back into compliance as quickly as possible. Our investigative process for individuals and/or businesses found out of compliance with the AWA may lead to an enforcement action such as letters of warning, monetary penalties, license suspensions and revocations. Additional information on APHIS’ Investigative and Enforcement Process can be found here.”
READ THE USDA REPORT BELOW:
READ THE USDA NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS BELOW: