One of Florida’s largest aquatic theme parks has been ordered to close by next month following several high-profile animal deaths and a series of scathing federal reports into the care of its marine mammals.
The Miami-Dade commission on Thursday served eviction papers on the Dolphin Company, owners of the troubled Miami Seaquarium, demanding it to vacate its county-owned site in Key Biscayne by 21 April.
A letter sent to the company on Thursday by Jimmy Morales, the commission’s chief operating officer, cited “numerous and significant violations” of the lease agreement, which he said represented “not just a default, but a complete disregard for the safety of the animals housed on the premises”.
“Lessee’s long and troubling history of violations constitute repeated, continuing longstanding violations of lessee’s contractual obligations to keep the property in a good state of repair, maintain animals in accordance with applicable law, and comply with all laws,” he wrote.
“The deficient and dangerous conditions that lessee has allowed to persist on the property … in many instances has resulted in injury to the animals and the animals’ ingestion of foreign materials.”
The Miami-Dade mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, a longtime critic of the park’s operations, was expected to give further details of the eviction at a press conference later on Thursday.
The termination of the Seaquarium’s lease, which the commission first threatened in December, comes less than a year after the death of killer whale Tokitae (also known by her performing name Lolita) after more than half a century of captivity in cramped conditions.
At least 120 dolphins and whales have died in captivity at the park, according to the Dolphin Project, including Sundance, a 30-year-old dolphin that died weeks after a November inspection by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted “signs of gastric distress”.
A succession of other federal inspections revealed deteriorations in both the maintenance of the park and the wellbeing of animals. In October, a dolphin was found with a two-inch nail in its throat; another with a broken metal bolt in its mouth. A sea lion with eye pain was denied surgery and refused to eat, the USDA said.
Mold and peeling paint were found in penguin and parrot enclosures; and the underfunded veterinary lab lacked basic diagnostic tools such as ultrasound, radiography, endoscopy or functioning anesthesia.
The park was behind at least $180,000 in rent, the county alleged, and in the most recent blow, Seaquarium’s head veterinarian Jessica Comolli resigned last month. “This news raises even more concerns about the conditions and safety of the animals currently under their care,” Levine Cava said in a statement.
The Dolphin Company did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request from the Guardian for comment. Previous statements from the company have accused critics, including the mayor, of spreading misinformation about its activities.
It is not yet known if the Mexico-based company, which took over the lease for the park in 2022, will challenge the eviction notice, or what will happen to the dozens of animals in its care if it is forced to close.
Previously, other marine parks in Florida have accepted Seaquarium’s animals, including ageing manatees Romeo and Juliet, who were relocated in December after animal rights activists campaigned for their freedom.
“At long last, authorities are taking action against the persistent animal welfare violations,” Dr Naomi Rose, senior scientist in marine mammal biology for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Life Program, said in a statement.
“This run-down facility has been a blight on Miami for too long. We hope the zoo and aquarium community steps up to the plate to ensure all of the animals, the mammals, birds, fish, find acceptable homes in US facilities.
“This came too late to help Tokitae, but at least the other dolphins, sea lions, birds and fish have a chance to find decent homes.”
Phil Demers, a former marine mammal trainer and founder of the group UrgentSeas, whose advocacy was credited for the relocation of the two manatees, also welcomed the termination notice.
“It’s official: the county is ending their lease. The Seaquarium’s nearly 70-year existence is coming to an end. As promised,” he wrote in a message posted to X, formerly Twitter.
