Six years after its opening SeaQuest Littleton will be closing Feb. 4.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) is acknowledging their work to close this location and other aquariums in 2023 Trumbull, Connecticut and Stonecrest, Georgia and prevented openings in Florida, New York, and North Dakota.
SeaQuest Littleton has received citations from Colorado Parks and Wildlife which led to a license suspension, violations of USDA regulations and complaints to Jefferson County Animal Control.
in 2018, the Colorado Department of Agriculture issued a cease and desist to SeaQuest Littleton for not having a permit.
According to PETA the facility allowed a heat lamp to severely burn a sloth named Flash, over 250 trout died, a kookaburra reportedly drowned in a water bowl, and a patron stomped five birds to death.
Between June 2018 and April 2019, more than 40 incidents occurred at the facility involving injuries to humans, including those to a 4-year-old child who was bitten while feeding an iguana, an 8-year-old child who was bitten by a pufferfish, and an employee who was scratched and bitten by a wallaby.
In September 2020, a wallaby named Ben drowned in a tank at the back of his enclosure. The facility was later cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for not providing a way for him to climb out of the tank.
In July 2022, a Savannah cat bit a guest during a public interaction, resulting in the quarantine of all three cats at the facility for six months.
In 2023, federal officials cited SeaQuest Littleton for multiple incidents, including when half of the tail of a sugar glider named Luna had to be amputated after it became entangled in a piece of chain in her enclosure.
PETA’s issued a statement on its website following the closure announcement,
“Soon, the infamous animal-exploiting hellhole will no longer force animals into stressful interactions, put them and the public in danger, or confine them to filthy, dilapidated enclosures.”
“Please never visit any SeaQuest location and encourage your friends, family members, and social media followers to do the same.”
