Feds Bust ‘Sea Lion Splash’ Following PETA Complaint

For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2021

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

After PETA alerted U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to apparent animal welfare violations at Sea Lion Splash—a Grafton-bound traveling exhibit that forces sea lions to perform circus-style tricks and be used as props for photo ops—the agency issued numerous federal Animal Welfare Act citations to the shabby outfit, an inspection report just obtained by PETA reveals. Violations include failure to provide the animals with enough space, inadequate testing for proper water quality, and use of expired medication.

“Sea Lion Splash couldn’t even meet the bare minimum standards required by federal law,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Debbie Metzler. “PETA encourages everyone to steer clear of this seedy show, which stores away gentle and intelligent sea lions as if they were props.”

PETA notes that Sea Lion Splash has failed to test water quality adequately in the past and that the facility has a long history of failing to provide sea lions with adequate veterinary care. This includes Zoey, who was covered with skin lesions and whose healing could be impeded by stressors such as inappropriate housing, intense confinement, and the unknown quality of the water.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.