Miami-Dade County Says So Long to Squalid Seaquarium
Miami Seaquarium has been operating on Virginia Key in Miami-Dade County, Florida, since 1955. In March, the Miami-Dade authorities announced they would be terminating the lease agreement with the Seaquarium and gave the facility six weeks to vacate the premises.
The Seaquarium is the infamous facility where the orca Lolita—aka Tokitae—was held for 53 years in a tiny tank, before her death in August 2023. Since 2021, the Seaquarium has received a number of negative inspection reports from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the USDA agency responsible for ensuring zoos and aquariums maintain certain minimum standards. Dolphins have died after violent fights, animals have been fed rotten food, and enclosure infrastructure is literally falling apart. Local authorities finally had enough and told The Dolphin Company, the Mexican-based owner of the Seaquarium, to close up shop. The company is challenging the eviction notice in federal court.
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