KEY BISCAYNE, FLA. (WSVN) - The new owners of the Miami Seaquarium have promised extensive checks on the health of all their animals, including an orca that has called the attraction home for decades.
At a news conference held Wednesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava addressed the change in ownership.
“It is a critical and long overdue opportunity for true partnership and greater accountability,” she said.
Renato Lenzi and Travis Burke with The Dolphin Company said the Seaquarium is in capable hands.
“It is for us a new beginning … to bring a new wave of transparency, a new way to communicate what’s happening inside the park,” said Lenzi.
The promise from the new owners comes after a concerning report from the United States Department of Agriculture regarding the health, welfare and inhumane housing of the animals inside, specifically the orca Lolita, also known as Toki.
“After the USDA report, so many of us were shocked by those findings, and that created questions that we want to put to rest,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado.
That is why, the new owners said, there will be a third party that will evaluate the health of the Seaquarium’s animals.
“They will work with our in-house team and our existing independent group of experts that already collaborate with us,” said Lenzi. “[They will] have full access to how we take care of Toki, how she’s doing today.”
Earlier in March, Lolita’s show was canceled due to health concerns.
“Her current conditions do not meet her needs, so that’s a positive step in the right direction,” said Alicia Aguayo with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Lolita was captured in the 1970s and has been a Seaquarium showcase since.
During that time, animal advocates have continued to call for the whale’s release.
Now, her new caretakers are promising top-notch care and transparency.
“This 100-day period allows us to come in and evaluate the animals, evaluate the teams and then move forward,” said Burke.
“Every single person we talked to, everyone we’ve had the opportunity to engage with, has exactly the same commitment to providing the highest quality of life we possibly can for Toki,” said Charles Vinick with the nonprofit Friends of Lolita.
But PETA officials said The Dolphin Company should give the marine mammal the opportunity to spend the rest of her years on the Pacific Coast in a much larger area.
In a statement, PETA Foundation spokesperson Jared Goodman called on the Seaquarium’s new owners “to take steps toward her transfer to a seaside sanctuary, where she could at last know peace and freedom from her tiny concrete cell.”
It remains unclear whether or not The Dolphin Company will carry out that request.
A public health report on Lolita is expected to be released at some point.
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