MIAMI – The future of the Miami Seaquarium remained murky Tuesday, two days after the Miami-Dade County mayor sent a letter to its management notifying them of her administration’s intent to end its lease for the Virginia Key property, citing animal welfare concerns.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s letter to The Dolphin Company cited a U.S. Department of Agriculture “Notice of Intent to Confiscate” four animals at the marine park as part of the reason for her decision.
The catalyst for the federal notice was the death of dolphin Sundance in late December.
However, a spokesperson for the USDA confirmed to Local 10 News on Tuesday that the Seaquarium has since taken “necessary corrective action to come into compliance” with federal law.
The full USDA statement, from its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, can be read below:
“In response to the death of a male bottlenose dolphin at the Miami Seaquarium on December 27, 2023, APHIS conducted an inspection of the facility on January 9, 2024, citing several Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations, including a direct citation for lack of appropriate veterinary care for 25 animals. APHIS returned to the facility on January 17, 2024, to ensure the violations were corrected and found four of the animals were still in need of immediate veterinary care. APHIS issued a notice of intent to confiscate to the facility on January 19, 2024. Miami Seaquarium took necessary corrective action to come into compliance with the AWA. APHIS will continue inspections to ensure Animal Welfare as determined by our risk based inspection process.”
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Legislative and Public Affairs spokesperson
What the USDA’s finding means with regard to the animal confiscations remains unclear. Local 10 News has contacted the agency seeking clarification. We have also contacted Levine Cava’s office.
A USDA spokesperson later declined to elaborate on the agency’s statement.
Meanwhile, attorney Daniel Wehking, a former Seaquarium animal caretaker and diver, weighed in on the latest developments in an interview with Local 10 News on Tuesday.
“I’ve never heard of a situation where a major zoo or aquarium had their animals confiscated by the USDA,” Wehking said. “It’s a consistent barrage of problems that are going on there. It’s not just one thing either. It’s lots of things that are problematic there that are causing direct issues with almost all the animals that they have.”
Regarding the mayor, Wehking said, “What she should do right now is get them off of our land because we shouldn’t be tolerating the things that have gone on there.”
The USDA has documented a range of facility failures and repeat violations impacting the health and wellness of animals and the facilities, to include black mold, high bacteria levels, rusting enclosures and a critical shortage of trained employees.
“They’ve failed to provide care to the animals that are housed on our county land,” Wehking said.
The county commissioner representing Virginia Key spoke to Local 10 News about the lease termination move on Monday.
“We are at a point where enough is enough,” Miami-Dade County District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado said. “Our priority is not keeping the Seaquarium open, our priority is ensuring that the animals are safe.”
Dr. Jenna Wallace, who was a veterinarian at the Seaquarium for six months back in 2021, told Local 10 News what she saw.
“It was awful,” she said. “The people were awful and the animals were not taken care of properly and the facilities were falling apart.”
Levine Cava and Regalado laid out the next steps in a joint statement Monday afternoon.
“In the meantime, we will continue to collaborate and coordinate closely with the USDA to chart the most appropriate course forward, always prioritizing the best interests of the animals residing at the Seaquarium,” it read in part.
Regalado added during her interview with Local 10 News, “They are not a sole operator, this is an international company, so they could surprise us by making an investment and say ‘OK, we understand this is serious, now we kind of have to course-correct’ and that is what we hope for.”
Local 10 News has contacted Seaquarium management seeking comment and had not yet received a response as of Tuesday afternoon.