After 120 fatalities and numerous high-profile complaints of mistreatment, including the discovery of a two-inch nail in a dolphin’s throat and an elderly manatee left alone, a Miami aquarium was forced to close.
Due to the Miami Seaquarium’s “complete disregard for the safety of the animals,” Miami-Dade County has terminated its contract and given them until April 21 to vacate the facility.
The decision comes after a protracted effort to close the aquarium that lasted years after horrifying videos of whales, dolphins, and manatees living in filthy circumstances went viral.
“It’s a day of vindication for those of us who have steadfastly fought against the Miami Seaquarium’s cruelty,” campaign leader Phil Demers told DailyMail.com. “But it’s an even better day for their animals.”
Last year, the Seaquarium garnered headlines due to the mistreatment and subsequent demise of Lolita the orca, the “world’s loneliest whale,” yet from its founding in 1955, non-profit According to the Dolphin Project, the park has lost around 120 creatures.
Lilita’s conditions in captivity, notably the size of her tank, which was the smallest of its kind in the US at 80 feet long and 35 feet wide, have long been the subject of protests from experts and concerned citizens.
Lolita was left alone when Hugo, her companion, passed away from an aneurysm ten years after they first visited the aquarium due to recurrent brain trauma from hitting his head against the walls.
The aquarium’s handling of Romeo the manatee later made headlines last year.
When a video of Romeo, 67, swimming bleakly in his tank, which is only said to be 30 feet wide, went viral last year, surfing icon Kelly Slater supported a petition to free him, which soon gathered more than 20,000 signatures.
Romeo was housed at the facility since 1956, and he had been apart from his former partner, Juliet, for a large portion of that time. He was kept alone in the little tank.
Romeo, Juliet, and another manatee, Clarity, were saved and brought to a different institution for medical attention following a public uproar.
Their legal actions came after a string of damaging reports from the USDA that showed the aquarium’s conditions were getting worse.
Federal investigators discovered two dolphins in October: Bimini had a broken metal bolt in its mouth, and Ripley had a two-inch nail stuck in its throat.
They also discovered that Sushi, a sea lion, was in discomfort and needed cataract surgery, so she had been rubbing and holding her eye closed.
The cataract operation was still not planned, but she had begun to refuse eating because of the agony.
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