By NICOLE LOPEZ, FORT WORTH REPORT
Oct. 28, 2024

Months after Fort Worth police opened an animal abuse investigation into SeaQuest Fort Worth, the aquarium inside Ridgmar Mall has closed its doors. 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced the closure Oct. 28, and the location no longer appears on SeaQuest’s online list of venues. The closure comes just over two months after PETA sent the Tarrant County district attorney’s office a complaint asking Fort Worth authorities to open an investigation into the allegations of animal abuse at the aquarium. 

PETA received reports of abuse from three former SeaQuest Fort Worth employees. Those reports included the deaths of two sharks, Icarus and Achilles, who likely died due to starvation as a result of stress from being in a cramped tank with several other animals, according to the employees’ accounts. PETA also outlined allegations of fish dying due to suffocation, toxic levels of ammonia, and inadequate living and shipping conditions. 

“The SeaQuest chain is a scourge, and PETA will continue to call out its dreadful and deadly petting zoos until every location follows suit and closes,” Molly Johnson, PETA Foundation associate director, said in a statement. 

The animal rights organization initially contacted Fort Worth Animal Care & Control — overseen by the city’s code compliance department — but animal control turned away the allegations, PETA officials said in August. 

Brian Daugherty, the city’s code compliance director, told the Report in August that two days after PETA published the allegations, all animals at SeaQuest were inspected by animal control staff and appeared to be “healthy and cared for.”

Animal control staff can recognize animals in distress and have general knowledge of aquatic and marine animals, Daugherty said. 

After receiving the complaint, a Fort Worth police spokesperson told the Report it was determined that the police department was not the appropriate agency to take on the investigation, “due to the nature of the facility and the types of animals involved.”

“Aquariums and zoos fall under the inspection and regulation of the (United States Department of Agriculture), and any violations are addressed at the federal level,” the spokesperson said. 

SeaQuest and the USDA did not immediately respond to the Report’s requests for comment.

Two billboards sponsored by PETA were placed on major thoroughfares near the SeaQuest Fort Worth location before the facility closed. Courtesy of PETA.

The Fort Worth location’s closure follows an investigation published by ABC News in February, documenting more than 80 instances where the aquarium chain was cited for incidents including human injuries, inadequate care for animals and conditions leading to animal deaths. 

The Ridgmar Mall facility racked up citations under the federal Animal Welfare Act, including failure to properly handle a sloth and a cat, both of which bit visitors, according to PETA. The facility was also cited for a duck enclosure reportedly covered in feces and waste. 

An investigation opened this year by the USDA noted cramped and unsanitary conditions for some animals at SeaQuest Fort Worth. 

Former SeaQuest CEO Vince Covino stepped down in August, after 12 years as its founding chief executive, according to previous Report coverage. In the press release announcing his resignation, SeaQuest acknowledged criticisms from animal rights organizations while also highlighting the company’s successes. SeaQuest facilities in Colorado, Connecticut and Georgia have closed since Covino’s departure, according to PETA.

Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at [email protected]. 

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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.