Animal News
Seaquest declares bankruptcy following closure of Fort Worth aquarium
Seaquest Fort Worth, now closed.
SeaQuest Holdings, LLC, owner of Seaquest aquariums at shopping malls such as Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth, has filed for Chapter 11 banrkuptcy protection, following a series of investigations into animal cruelty.
The bankruptcy follows the October 2024 closure of the Fort Worth location at Ridgmar Mall, which had been the target of numerous reports of animal abuse and an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States.
The Boise, Idaho-based company claimed less than $1 million in assets, but between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities.
According to court records, Vince Covino is still listed as a CEO and consultant and was paid more than $128,000 between December 2023 and November 2024, despite announcing in August that he was stepping down from his role.
PETA Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Rebecca Smudzinski said in a statement that "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."
Smudzinski said that PETA was 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 included numerous complaints filed with federal and state authorities regarding injuries to customers and animal welfare issues, including animals who drowned, were burned, were intentionally deprived of food, or were stomped or crushed to death by customers.
According to an ABC News investigation, SeaQuest was cited more than 80 times in the past five years for issues including human injuries, disease hazards, animal neglect, and animal deaths.
In addition to the Fort Worth location, SeaQuest has closed three other locations in the last two years in Littleton, Colorado; Trumbull, Connecticut; and Stonecrest, Georgia. There are five locations still open in Las Vegas, Layton, Utah; Folsom, California; Roseville, Minnesota; and Woodbridge, New Jersey.
