{"id":474070,"date":"2025-12-27T02:34:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T02:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/474070\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T02:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T02:34:15","slug":"dallas-aquarium-receives-hundreds-of-animals-from-shuttered-south-florida-seaquarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/474070\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas aquarium receives hundreds of animals from shuttered South Florida seaquarium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of sea animals from a controversial and now-shuttered South Florida aquarium have relocated to Dallas. <\/p>\n

In a social media post Christmas Day, the Children\u2019s Aquarium at Fair Park<\/a> said it had welcomed nurse sharks, a giant moray eel and \u201cmany lesser-aknown but equally important species\u201d following the closure of the Miami Seaquarium.<\/p>\n

The seaquarium, an institution for 70 years, closed in October after years of protests by animal rights advocates and growing complaints over the treatment of its animals. In 2023, the death of Lolita, also called Tokitae or Toki, an orca who entertained audiences for 50 years, sparked public fury. The seaquarium had agreed to release Lolita to the ocean several months before she died in captivity.<\/p>\n

A 2022 report<\/a> by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found the aquarium dramatically cut daily feedings to nine dolphins to ensure they would perform for guests, resulting in \u201cvery thin animals\u201d and \u201cabnormal behaviors.\u201d The park denied the allegations and said the reduced feedings were caused by \u201cgaps in communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The seaquarium\u2019s parent company, The Dolphin Company, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and retained a consultant to relocate and transport the animals. On a website<\/a> detailing the bankruptcy, the company said it would \u201cprioritize the health, wellness and safety of the animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Animal rights organization PETA sent a letter<\/a> to the company urging it to evaluate all animals for potential release. If that was not possible, it asked the animals be released to \u201creputable sanctuaries where they can have some semblance of a natural life.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, PETA President Tracy Reiman said in a statement that if a qualified veterinarian had determined the animals could not be released into the wild, she hoped they \u201ccan live as close to a normal life as possible and not be subjected to an onslaught of grabbing hands in exploitative encounters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dolphin Company did not immediately respond to a phone call or email Friday from The Dallas Morning News. It is not clear where the other animals were sent.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Children\u2019s Aquarium also did not immediately respond to a phone call or email, but it said Thursday on Instagram<\/a> that it was \u201cgrateful for new beginnings.\u201d The aquarium, which originally opened in 1936 as the first aquarium in Texas, closed during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> and reopened in 2021 under new management.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind the scenes, our team moved quickly to prepare safe, stable habitats and upgrade critical life-support systems so these animals could begin their next chapter with the care they deserve,\u201d the Dallas aquarium wrote.<\/p>\n