Gulf World Goes Under

Gulf World Marine Park, a dolphinarium in Panama City Beach, Florida, has closed after 55 years. It was purchased in 2015 by The Dolphin Company (TDC), which owns a string of dolphinariums in Mexico (where the company is based) and which, over the past decade, has expanded into the United States. TDC filed for bankruptcy in March. It then chose to close Gulf World and send its dolphins to other facilities. In June, four rough-toothed dolphins went to the nonprofit Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and three bottlenose dolphins were sent to TDC-owned Dolphin Connection in Duck Key, Florida. In July, the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a critical noncompliance report, noting that the bottlenose dolphins suffered abrasions, lesions, and cuts on their bodies consistent with the use of improper equipment and handling methods during the 13-hour transport. AWI is monitoring the situation and will seek to ensure that TDC is held accountable for inflicting these injuries.

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