Undercover investigation reveals stressed animals in mall petting zoos

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’This place is hell, the management is hell, they don’t care about the animals,’ noted a SeaQuest employee

WASHINGTON (Nov. 18, 2024)—An undercover investigator for the Humane Society of the United States worked at SeaQuest locations in Fort Worth, Texas, for 28 days and in Las Vegas for 20 days during the summer of 2024. The investigations released today reveal horrific animal abuse and severe neglect, dangerous human-animal interactions, and filthy conditions throughout the facilities including roach and maggot infestations near animals, their food, staff and visitors.
SeaQuest is a chain of shopping mall-based indoor wild animal petting zoos that once had 10 locations across the U.S. After several closures, including the recent Fort Worth location, they now operate five. SeaQuest’s cruel business model of setting up windowless wild animal encounters for the public has been adopted by other companies and is a growing trend in the U.S. Since 2013 at least 21 retail petting zoos have or are scheduled to open in 15 states. One SeaQuest that closed was purchased by another company and still operates.

Laura Hagen, director of captive wildlife for the Humane Society of the United States, said: “Our investigations reveal that SeaQuest animals are confined to live in dark, hot, filthy spaces with no windows, fresh air or proper enrichment. Basic mental, physical and behavioral health requirements of the animals are simply ignored. Wild animals are surrounded for hours by loud crowds poking and grabbing them, day after day. Some ran in circles, pacing or trying to avoid stressful interactions with people while staff told the investigator of others who were stepped on. Staff discussed a python who escaped SeaQuest, never to be found. These disgraceful, negligent operations abuse animals to turn a profit and the public needs to know how cruel and dangerous they really are.”

“This place is hell, the management is hell, they don’t care about the animals, the manager just doesn’t give a [expletive],” said a worker at the Fort Worth location to a group of coworkers, including the investigator. He went on to explain that staff had advocated for months for the sharks to have “any sort of life at all.” He cited other shocking issues including SeaQuest keeping three nurse sharks in a tank that was too small even for one shark. All three nurse sharks died.

The investigation revealed that SeaQuest fosters a culture of anxiety and fear among staff that made them reluctant to report concerns about animal health, behavior and wellbeing to leadership. Staff described being scolded by supervisors for reporting medical issues, with one stating she was “berated” for reporting an animal injury and another that her supervisor was “furious” with her for reporting a concern to the veterinarian.

Between 2019 and 2024, SeaQuest was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for over 110 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including 12 critical citations (those with serious or severe adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of an animal), 25 citations for unsafe or inhumane handling, 22 citations for enclosures in disrepair, and 24 citations for filthy, infested or cluttered conditions.

“Businesses like SeaQuest have carelessly used animals without giving a second thought to their safety for far too long. The Animal Welfare Act is designed to protect animals, not to protect the unscrupulous industries that use them for profit,” said Jennifer Eskra, director of legislative affairs at the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “This is why we are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take action against SeaQuest and requesting Congress pass the Better CARE for Animals Act, a bill that would provide the Department of Justice with more options to hold those that violate the Animal Welfare Act accountable.”

The results of the HSUS investigations were submitted to the USDA on Nov. 1.