SeaQuest, a chain that operates petting-zoo-style exhibits at malls in Utah and across the country, says the COVID-19 pandemic kept customers out of shopping centers and therefore away from its attractions.
That’s why, according to court documents, the Idaho-based company filed for bankruptcy this month.
SeaQuest is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which lets companies “restructure their operations and ongoing financial obligations” to stay in business, company attorney Matthew Christensen wrote in an email to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Its five remaining locations, including the aquarium at the Layton Hills Mall, will stay open for now.
An Idaho judge granted a temporary motion Thursday to let SeaQuest use its cash collateral to continue operating. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Court filings show less than $1 million in assets and more than $16 million in liabilities, including $7 million-plus of unsecured debts. They also indicate SeaQuest’s revenues plunged from more than $27 million in 2022 to roughly $15 million this year.
“SeaQuest will be reviewing all of the possibilities for continuing its operations and/or seeking an orderly sale of the business,” Christensen said, “and will pursue the best possible outcome through the bankruptcy process.”
In addition, the company faces accusations of animal abuse and neglect from several animal rights groups.
The Humane Society of the United States published a report earlier this year that alleged “horrific abuse” at two SeaQuest locations — one of which closed “suddenly” in October. Several other sites have also shut down after reports of neglect and abuse.
SeaQuest’s Layton outlet was not a subject of the Humane Society’s investigation and has a clean record, according to inspection reports, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
However, at two other locations — Fort Worth, Texas, and Las Vegas — an undercover Humane Society investigator found sick and injured animals in unsafe conditions, the report states.
A capybara in Fort Worth allegedly had “chronic hip dysplasia” and untreated respiratory illness. Reptiles allegedly were kept in enclosures that were too cold and dark, and an iguana was burned from being soaked in pure iodine to facilitate shedding, rather than a diluted iodine bath.
Parakeets at both places were kept in enclosures described as a “death sentence” after several perished during the course of the investigation, the Humane Society asserts, adding that the two outlets were “infested” with cockroaches.
“It’s no surprise that this dangerous, cruel company is suffering financially after years of abusing animals and putting the public at risk,” Laura Hage, the Humane Society director of captive wildlife, said in a statement. “SeaQuest’s bankruptcy filing makes it clear that this outfit not only preys on wild animals by shoving them into small, filthy cages in windowless shopping malls and forcing them to interact with the public day after day. They also appear to engage in predatory business practices, racking up millions of dollars in unpaid debts, all to treat wild animals like commodities for human entertainment.
The Layton site offers interactive sloth experiences, during which customers can pet and feed the animals. Some conservationists have warned against such encounters, pointing to research that suggests close contact with humans can elevate sloths’ blood pressure and damage their health. According to court documents, the Layton SeaQuest also owns two turaco birds, a mini horse, an armadillo and various marine animals, including stingrays and puffer fish.
(Kirsten Luce | The New York Times) An employee keeps an iguana on a leash as children and adults gather around at a SeaQuest location Woodbridge, N.J., in 2023.
SeaQuest did not respond to The Tribune’s questions about the abuse accusations or the bankruptcy proceedings. Christensen, the company’s attorney, declined to comment on the abuse reports.
“Several of the species are on the endangered, threatened or vulnerable species lists and SeaQuest provides a culture for those animals to breed and multiply — thus helping to preserve the species,” a filing states. “SeaQuest also provides several children’s programs and field trip visits for local schools around each location.”
In court documents, lawyers for the company say SeaQuest owns more than 300 species across its five remaining locations.
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.
