Plans were announced to officially shut down Miami Seaquarium and transition the venue under new ownership. The good news is there won’t be captive dolphins and animal performances according to the proposal. The bad news is city officials and developers want to build a new aquarium that would continue offering animal interactions.
Last month, Miami-Dade County and Terra Group, the developers selected for Miami Seaquarium’s renovation, announced plans to shut down the venue. The good news is that none of the plans involve keeping marine mammals, such as dolphins, orcas, and seals, captive for entertainment. The bad news is that developers and the city government want to build a new aquarium that will still offer interactions with other animals.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Raquel Regalado said in a statement:
“We don’t want animals performing. We want interactions with animals, but we want those interactions to be wholesome, resilient and based on the well-being of those animals.”
While it’s great news that we’ve successfully shown city authorities that marine mammal entertainment is unethical, it’s disappointing that they still believe allowing visitor interactions with any wild animals could be acceptable. Such interactions can never be “wholesome” as they inevitably place the animals’ well-being at risk.
Our Response
We won’t stand by while animals are at risk. We are writing a letter to Miami-Dade Country as well as Terra Group urging them to reconsider and develop new proposals for the site that don’t exploit any animals and submitting op-eds to local news outlets to bring greater attention. We are also working with local animal rights group SoFlo Animal Rights to mobilize the community against the new plan.
How You Can Help
Post a comment under one of Terra Group’s posts on its Instagram urging the firm to reconsider its proposal and not include captive animals and animal interactions at Miami Seaquarium. Example comment:
No more aquariums in Miami! There is nothing “modern” about keeping wild animals captive for entertainment. Don’t build a new aquarium and offer animal interactions at the new Seaquarium site.
For Miami residents only: send an email to the Mayor and Commissioner as well as Terra Group, urging them to renovate Miami Seaquarium without animal interactions and captive wild animals.
Together, let’s ensure the future of the Miami Seaquarium keeps wild animals where they truly belong—in the wild.