Whistleblower: Neglected Animals Dying in Droves at East Idaho Aquarium; PETA Calls For Probe

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

This morning, PETA sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Administrator Sarah Helming urging her to investigate East Idaho Aquarium—and hold the facility accountable to the fullest extent of the law—in light of new whistleblower allegations, including that nearly 200 animals were killed in just three months. Public records obtained by PETA show that dozens of birds were stepped on, sat on, or otherwise crushed to death by customers during hands-on encounters. The whistleblower also told PETA that a current employee reported that the facility had put young chicks who fell out of their nesting boxes into a freezer to die.

The whistleblower detailed multiple apparent violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act at East Idaho Aquarium, including failing to provide food, shelter, and adequate veterinary care for baby parakeets who fell out of their nesting boxes due to competition for nests with adult cockatiels housed in the same aviary. Other allegations include the following:

• Parakeets and cockatiels were fed only when visitors paid to feed them so that they would be hungry and motivated to eat from the guests’ hands during encounters.
• The facility ignored its attending veterinarian’s recommendation that newly acquired birds be tested for psittacosis, an infectious disease that could be transmitted to other birds and humans.
• An employee allegedly hit a female aracari with a vacuum hose and bragged about it to the whistleblower and other employees. Management allegedly defended the employee when the incident was reported to them.

“Death and despair run rampant at East Idaho Aquarium, where, according to this insider, baby birds were denied lifesaving care and those who survive to adulthood are forced into dangerous public encounters,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Michelle Sinnott. “PETA is urging federal authorities to investigate and asking families to steer clear of this hellhole as if lives depend on it—because they do.”

The whistleblower’s allegations are consistent with public records obtained by PETA from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which show that more than 2,000 animals died at East Idaho Aquarium from June 2019 through September 2022.

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.