Feds Wallop SeaQuest Folsom With ‘Critical’ Citation for Parakeet’s Death
For Immediate Release:
September 26, 2024
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
PETA just received word that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has hit SeaQuest Folsom with a critical citation—among the worst type of animal welfare violations—following an incident in which a parakeet died after becoming caught in a door. Parakeets have also been killed at other SeaQuest operations, where they were forced to interact with paying customers, who have stepped on and crushed them.
“Parakeets at SeaQuest have been stepped on and crushed, and now at least one has died after becoming caught in a door, so how many of these vulnerable animals must suffer before this hellhole stops exploiting them?” asks PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Michelle Sinnott. “PETA urges everyone to avoid this notorious aquarium chain, which treats living, feeling beings as disposable merchandise.”
Hundreds of animals have died at SeaQuest facilities nationwide, and the USDA has issued numerous citations for inadequate animal care, improper maintenance, and injuries to members of the public. Federal officials also recently cited SeaQuest Folsom for an “ongoing fly issue” after clusters of flies had amassed in the wallaby enclosure and spread throughout the facility—a condition that officials previously noted “can transmit disease and can be irritating to the animals.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—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, Facebook, or Instagram.
