LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — SeaQuest, the company that runs a controversial chain of shopping mall-based indoor wild animal petting zoos, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The move comes in the wake of a nearly six-year-long investigation by 13 Investigates of the interactive aquarium, a long-time anchor tenant of the Boulevard Mall.
While SeaQuest has been collecting money from local families for entry fees, animal encounters, and annual passes, it has not been paying its bills.
Federal records in the just-filed bankruptcy case show SeaQuest owes the Boulevard Mall $545,432.48 in unpaid rent.
The bankruptcy doesn't just impact Las Vegas. It includes all remaining SeaQuest locations around the country as it was filed by the parent company, headquartered in Idaho.
In court records, Seaquest Holdings, LLC reported less than $1 million in assets but over $10 million in liabilities.
"The Chapter 11 bankruptcy documents show that SeaQuest owes millions of dollars to businesses across the U.S., including to at least one Las Vegas employee, more than half a million dollars to the Boulevard Mall, and to a veterinary practice in Las Vegas as well," said Laura Hagen, director of captive wildlife for the Humane Society of the United States.
As we reported in November, an HSUS undercover investigation this summer at the Las Vegas and Fort Worth, Texas, locations revealed animal neglect, dangerous human-animal interactions and filthy conditions including cockroach infestations.
"Countless animals have died and been harmed by SeaQuest business practices," said Hagen.
"Numerous members of the public have been hurt and injured as a result of the business model that SeaQuest has set up. In fact, the bankruptcy filings show that SeaQuest has been subject to two tort claims from Nevada residents."
Through a public records request, 13 Investigates obtained Clark County Animal Protection Services records which show an employee was injured by a Coati Mundi in August as it scrambled up her back and scratched her neck in a frenzied attempt to get food.
CCAPS also shared video of a banded armadillo running in circles, which experts say is evidence of severe stress.
"SeaQuest is a predatory business that shoves captive wild animals into small, filthy cages and uses them, and forces them into public interactions for profit," Hagen said.
SeaQuest's Boulevard Mall location has no windows. Its animals live without access to sunlight or fresh air. APS records show Clark County continues to receive complaints from the public and last conducted an inspection in March of this year.
They found obese Koi fish with bulging stomachs, stingrays with wounds, one iguana with skin cancer and another with mouth and tail rot, but otherwise noted the facility was clean, all animals had access to water, and most had enrichment and food available. SeaQuest passed that inspection.
SeaQuest did not respond to our request for comment about the bankruptcy, the money they owe here in Las Vegas, or whether they intend to stay open.
"A Chapter 11 bankruptcy is the type of bankruptcy that you file when you intend to continue to do business," Hagen said. "We think that SeaQuest should take the message that this is an unprofitable and dangerous and abusive business and close their doors for good."
SeaQuest's exotic animal permit with Clark County expires in April, but they will have the option to renew it.
13 Investigates reached out to the Boulevard Mall to see whether they plan to renew SeaQuest's lease, but mall management did not respond.
The undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States revealed dangerous conditions for the animals and employees.
You can watch the full extent of their findings here:
Statement on SeaQuest bankruptcy from PETA Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Rebecca Smudzinski:
"SeaQuest’s financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing business model, as compassionate consumers don’t want to fork over their dollars to look at fish, otters, and birds suffering in cramped, filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters. This bankruptcy must not be a lifeline to keep this cruel and incompetent chain afloat—PETA is calling on SeaQuest to shut down its remaining locations and surrender the surviving animals to reputable, financially responsible facilities that can finally get them the care they desperately need.
PETA'S ongoing campaign against SeaQuest has included numerous complaints filed with federal and state authorities regarding many injuries to customers and egregious animal welfare issues, including animals who drowned, were burned, were intentionally deprived of food, or were stomped or crushed to death by customers, among other horrors. SeaQuest has closed four locations in the last two years, in Fort Worth, Texas; Littleton, Colorado; Trumbull, Connecticut; and Stonecrest, Georgia. PETA also helped prevent SeaQuest from opening locations in Florida, New York, and North Dakota."
Statement from Steffen Seitz, Litigation Fellow at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, issued the following statement:
"Mr. Seitz and the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project represent Lana Westbrook, a former Marketing Coordinator for Seaquest, who was sued by Seaquest over her alleged public criticism of its treatment of animals. AALDP says the suit is an unlawful Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP, aimed at chilling Ms. Westbrook’s criticism of SeaQuest and that of other employees. Extensive press coverage has documented egregious animal welfare issues at SeaQuest’s locations around the country, and the company has incurred repeated animal welfare violations."
You can follow all of our reporting on SeaQuest at ktnv.com/seaquest.
