MIAMI – The head veterinarian at the troubled Miami Seaquarium is resigning, county officials confirmed to Local 10 News on Wednesday.
As recently as Nov. 28, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the marine park has a “single veterinarian...employed to care for the 46 marine mammals, 50 birds, and hundreds of fish, sharks and rays housed at the facility.”
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department said Wednesday that officials were “recently made aware of the anticipated resignation of Head Veterinarian (Dr.) Jessica R. Comolli.”
“The mayor and county officials were made aware this morning,” spokesperson Julienne Gage told Local 10 News in a statement Wednesday.
County officials have not yet confirmed whether Comolli’s resignation will leave the Seaquarium without a veterinarian. Local 10 News also contacted Seaquarium officials seeking comment.
The park has been beset with animal health and structural safety concerns after a series of USDA inspections.
Attorney Daniel Wehking, a former Seaquarium animal caretaker and diver, said the “community should know this has been an ongoing problem” and Comolli’s resignation is reflective of it.
“Properly staffed, this park should have three veterinarians, plus techs, and they’ve been working with just one veterinarian for 11 months now,” Wehking said. “Every time the USDA mentions it, they mention that it is a problem, that there is not proper staffing to take care of the animals that they have.”
Take Sundance, one of several dolphins the facility’s vet told USDA in late November was showing signs of gastric distress. She needed an endoscope to figure out how best to treat her, but the facility still had not acquired the medical instrument. Just under one month after that inspection, Sundance died.
An adult female sea lion named Sushi was also euthanized in January, a few months after USDA inspectors said she wasn’t getting adequate care.
A Sept. 26 medical record noted that Sushi, an adult female, was “holding her right eye closed and rubbing both eyes.”
Sushi marine mammal data sheet:
Veterinarians noted that she needed cataract surgery scheduled “soon,” but the facility didn’t take steps to do so, the report states.
Two days later, the medical records noted Sushi was slow to eat. By Oct. 11, she was “variably refusing food.” By Oct. 15, “she was completely refusing food, due to eye pain.”
In January, a USDA inspection report stated that sea lion pools still have excessive bacteria levels.
“When the numbers are this high, divers are not permitted to dive and clean pools; the pools must be dropped to bring numbers back to safe levels,” inspectors wrote. “High counts of coliform bacteria in the environments of marine mammals pose a risk to the health of these animals. "
The Seaquarium has also recently lost its American Humane Association certification. Its lease agreement with Miami-Dade County requires it to maintain that certification.
Wehking is calling for criminal charges.
“At this point, it’s clear that the Seaquarium is committing criminal animal cruelty in Florida,” he said. “They are in custody of these animals and they’ve repeatedly failed to get them the care that’s necessary and it has caused suffering as a result, that’s felony animal cruelty in Florida and that’s what Seaquarium has done.”
He continued, “If this was 40 dogs that had the same kind of treatment, as these over 40 marine mammals, the county would’ve taken the dogs away from these people at this point.”
Local 10 News reached out to the offices of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Raquel Regalado, whose district includes the Seaquarium, for comment, and received the following statement Wednesday evening:
“We have been made aware of the resignation of Miami Seaquarium’s Head Veterinarian. This news raises even more concerns about the conditions and safety of the animals currently under their care. The Seaquarium must have the appropriate staff with the required expertise and credentials to ensure the health and wellbeing of the animals. Miami-Dade County is taking all steps necessary to enforce compliance with our current lease agreement as we move closer to termination. Today’s news reaffirms the County’s concerns and the urgency to determine next steps in the best interest of the animals residing at the Seaquarium.”
Local 10 News also contacted the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office inquiring whether it planned to launch and investigation or seek charges. We haven’t heard back as of Wednesday evening.