The animal rights advocacy group PETA is welcoming the closure of SeaQuest Connecticut, an interactive aquarium located in the Trumbull Mall, claiming the facility has a history of animal abuse.
Seaquest is a Boise, Idaho-based chain that offers visitors provides visitors with the opportunity to interact with and feed the animals in its collection. The company locates its facilities in shopping malls and features marine life, exotic mammals, birds and reptiles in its collections.
SeaQuest Connecticut announced on social media that it is closing on Aug. 20 and its animals are being relocated to other locations. The company offered no explanation on why it was closing the Trumbull site, which opened in 2019.
“SeaQuest will continue to honor annual passes and is extending membership for an additional year for passholders,” said the company in the announcement of the closing. “The closest location to Connecticut is in Woodbridge, New Jersey.”
PETA welcomed the news, calling SeaQuest Connecticut a “seedy roadside aquarium” and highlighting its multiple alerts to government inspectors regarding the facility”™s treatment of its animals.
“We submitted eight complaints about the facility to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) [and] made numerous complaints to state and local authorities regarding issues at the site, including problems with its fish spas and damning whistleblower allegations of egregious animal welfare issues,” the organization said in an online statement. “We even filed a request to strip the facility of its state approval to possess certain animals, which resulted in a settlement requiring SeaQuest Trumbull to remove a porcupine and kinkajous from the facility.”
PETA added that it “also submitted a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission in late 2022 regarding injuries to the public that occurred at SeaQuest locations across the country, including at the Trumbull facility.”
PETA also reported the USDA had “issued it more than a dozen citations for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act” regarding alleged incidents of staff abusing animals and animals biting children.
“The Trumbull hellhole”™s closure means there”™s one less business exploiting animals for a quick buck,” the organization said.
Photo courtesy SeaQuest Connecticut
