Dire Conditions at the Seaquarium Prompt New Protest at Mayor’s Office to Demand Park Shutdown

For Immediate Release:
February 19, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

What:             The failed veterinary care, derelict enclosures, and suffering animals found by federal inspectors at the Miami Seaquarium will bring PETA supporters to a fiery protest outside Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s office on Tuesday, demanding that officials shut down the marine park now.

The just-released federal inspection report describes a dolphin with a 2-inch nail embedded in his throat, a sea lion who was in so much pain from an untreated eye condition that she refused food, and a customer kicking a dolphin in the mouth, among numerous other violations.

PETA supporters gathered outside an event hosted by Mayor Levine Cava on February 16—now new protests are planned. Credit: PETA

“The Miami Seaquarium is a hellhole where animals are reduced to eating trash and nails and where they are wasting away in crumbling concrete tanks,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA supporters will demand that Mayor Levine Cava and county officials stop with the platitudes and help get animals out of danger at this horror show and into reputable facilities.”

Where:           Outside the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office, Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First St., Miami

When:             Tuesday, February 20, 12 noon

Your coverage is invited. RSVP to Moira Colley at 518-466-6815 or [email protected].

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

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