A national aquarium chain has permanently closed its location in a Fort Worth mall months after former employees leaked footage of dozens of dead and dying marine animals at the facility.
The Star-Telegram confirmed on Monday, Oct. 28, that the SeaQuest Aquarium in the Ridgmar Mall had closed its doors for good.
“Closed to the public,” a sign taped to the door read. “We apologize for the inconvenience. Have a fin-tastic day!!”
Another handwritten note taped to the door advised former employees to leave their shirts and badges at the door.
It is unclear why the location closed. A manager on site declined to answer questions, and the company did not return an email seeking comment.
“Champagne corks are popping at PETA now that this blight on beautiful Fort Worth has finally stopped exploiting animals and endangering the public,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director Molly Johnson in a press release. “The SeaQuest chain is a scourge, and PETA will continue to call out its dreadful and deadly petting zoos until every location follows suit and closes.”
In August, three former employees of the aquarium came out as whistleblowers, alleging that a culture of negligence and poor facilities management led to the starving deaths of two sharks and the likely suffocations of dozens of other animals at the SeaQuest aquarium.
Overcrowding had stressed a pair of nurse sharks to the point that they had stopped eating, ultimately dying of starvation, the whistleblowers said.
The animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals published a video of one of the sharks thrashing about in a tank, allegedly experiencing death throes.
PETA also published a video of employees unpacking dozens of bags of fish and other marine animals that allegedly died while in transit from another SeaQuest location in Colorado.
The Fort Worth Police Department opened an investigation into the aquarium following the allegations in August. The investigation was closed at the end of September after it was determined that the police department was not the appropriate agency to investigate, a police spokesperson said.
A billboard put up by PETA on thoroughfares leading to the Ridgmar Mall in September 2024 urges Fort Worth residents not to visit the SeaQuest Aquarium.
The aquarium was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture multiple times in 2024, mostly for sanitation issues in the animal pens.
The aquarium was cited in January for cramped and unsanitary conditions in enclosures for otters, porcupines and other animals. It received another citation in August for unsanitary conditions in a duck enclosure.
In September, PETA posted billboards on thoroughfares leading to the mall that urged drivers not to patronize the aquarium.
“Animals suffer and die at mall aquariums,” the billboards read. “DON’T GO!”
Animals like sloths, parrots and other birds could be observed through the glass doors of the aquarium on Monday, Oct. 28.
The Star-Telegram contacted the USDA with questions about what will happen with the animals, but did not get an immediate response.
SeaQuest’s CEO resigned in August, the PETA press release states, and the company has closed several locations across the country in recent months. PETA also took credit for stopping the company opening new locations in three other states.
SeaQuest still has five aquariums in operation in the county, according to its website.
