SeaQuest should permanently lose its operating license and be shut down for severe animal welfare violations, premature animal deaths, human injuries and legal violations.
SeaQuest is a self-proclaimed “land and sea adventure” that uses animals for human entertainment. It is known for extensive animal welfare issues including a large number of premature animal deaths, human injuries, legal violations, and citations from both the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Since September 2023, the Woodbridge, New Jersey location inside Woodbridge Center Mall location has been on probation due to multiple serious infractions and documented animal welfare violations. Urge officials to revoke Woodbridge SeaQuest’s license and shut it down, releasing the animals to appropriate wildlife refuges, sanctuaries, and rescues. George the pig has been offered a home at Uncle Neil’s Home, a reputable farmed animal sanctuary in New Jersey. Also urge the closure of the other remaining SeaQuest facilities across the country and prevent further imminent animal suffering.
Locations in Colorado, Connecticut, and Georgia have already been closed due to critical animal welfare concerns, and there are seven remaining facilities in Woodbridge, NJ, Roseville, MN, Lynchburg, VA (closing to reopen as Hill City Aqua Zoo Fall 2024), Folsom, CA, Layton, UT, Fort Worth, TX, and Las Vegas, NV. SeaQuest was started by brothers Vince and Ammon Covino at the end of 2015. Ammon Covino is a convicted wildlife trafficker. Vince Covino recently stepped down after the launch of a Woodbridge, New Jersey campaign, and the new CEO of SeaQuest is Aaron Neilsen.
SeaQuest acquires animals through purchase from breeders, through trafficking, from other facilities, and more. It exists to profit from animals who are used for entertainment, and invites guests to interact with exotic animals from five continents for the ultimate land and sea “experience.” It is responsible for egregious animal welfare violations, animal deaths, illegal activity, and injuries to the public. The company is consistently in the news for state and federal animal welfare violations involving hazardous conditions for animals, staff, and visitors. People of all ages, including young children, are encouraged to touch, feed, and interact with animals including many kinds of fish, which subjects the animals and visitors to risk of injury and the spread of zoonotic diseases.
In 2021, we visited Woodbridge SeaQuest and found horrible conditions for animals, employees, and visitors. Visitors were observed putting their hands and arms into crowded water tanks containing fish, eels, sharks, and stingrays. People were also allowed to feed parrots who can bite out of fear or aggression. A boa constrictor was confined to an enclosure not much longer than the average body length of the species. A Bengal cat, typically characterized by their high energy, did not move from on top of a plastic crate suggesting sedation or poor health. Visitors were invited to enter the enclosure to interact with the cat by purchasing tokens. Our investigation prompted us to create an action alert which is still open and calls for the closure of all remaining SeaQuest locations.
In September of 2023, Woodbridge SeaQuest was finally put on a one-year probation after the state of New Jersey received multiple complaints about animals suffering and 100 animals dying there since it opened in 2019. The probation was supposed to end on September 27, 2024, if the facility complied with the state’s list of animal welfare regulations. However, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told SeaQuest this past June that the probation would be extended indefinitely. The terms of the probation stipulate that SeaQuest may not acquire any new animals, or open any new interactive animal encounters or exhibits. If the company does not comply with these regulations or address the outstanding animal welfare regulations, it risks permanently losing its operating license and being shut down.
Thankfully, SeaQuest is now at serious risk of having its exotic wildlife permits permanently revoked, which means that the animals on site will be confiscated by the state. Let’s ensure that justice is served for the animals who have died there and for those who continue to suffer at this horrendous facility.
Original source: https://www.idausa.org
