Bimini, a 26-year-old dolphin, was to be confiscated along with three other animals in January 2024, but never confiscated. They then died in Miami Sheerium.
Miami Sicorium ousted by the county after quote, complaints
Miami-Dade officials have issued a notice of eviction for the Miami Sicorium after years of citations and complaints from activists.
- Another dolphin named Bimini died in the Miami Sheerium, who fought amid ongoing controversy.
- The dolphin was one of four animals the USDA marked for confiscation for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
- The testing report said Seaquarium was unable to provide adequate veterinary care and had a collapsed infrastructure.
- The park’s parent company is facing an eviction battle with Miami-Dade County and has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Another dolphin died in the Miami Seaquarium, at the heart of ongoing controversy due to a battle of animal safety violations and “suffering”, testing violations, bankruptcy and eviction.
Owned by an MS leisure company run by a subsidiary run by Dolphin Company, Seaquarium has been the subject of criticism and regular protest, with activist groups including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) calling for the closure for more than a decade. On September 16, Miami-Dade County was notified that Bimini, a 26-year-old Atlantic Bottlenorth Dolphin, had died from chronic health issues.
“The loss of Bimini is deeply felt across all Miami Seaquarium and across the community,” Stephen Strom, director of independence at MS Leisure Company, said in a news release. “It’s heart that our entire Miami Sicorium team remembers the lasting legacy of Bimini.”
In a notice sent on January 19, 2024, Bimini accused Ms Leisure of failing to comply with the Animal Welfare Act, one of four animals marked for confiscation by the USDA.
“We have been informed that this forfeiture is the first time that USDA has taken such measures with marine mammals in 30 years,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniela Levine Cava said in a letter to the president of Eduardo Alber on January 21, 2024. “This emphasizes the gravity of the situation and cannot be underestimated.”
However, the confiscation was not completed, and two of the four animals on the list died.
USA Today has contacted Cava’s office, USDA/APHIS and Dolphin Company, but has not received a response.
Evictions, bankruptcy, animal deaths are plagued by marine parks
Animal advocate and former SeaWorld trainer Valerie Green said at least 11 known marine mammals had died from the Seaquarium. “If Bimini had been confiscated last year, she would probably still be alive,” Green said.
Sequarium received an eviction notice from Miami-Dade County in January 2024 and requested that the property be vacated by April 21, 2024. Leisure investments violated the lease by inadequately maintaining animal care and inadequately maintaining the basis for ocean volume, according to city officials. However, the judge later denied the November 2024 claim for immediate eviction after the Servant refused the vacancy, saying there was evidence to prove that the demand letter claim was false.
Dolphin Company later applied for Chapter 11 protection on March 31st.
Seaquarium said in a news release issued September 17 that Bimini had passed away “under the careful care of Miami Seaquarium experts,” but USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Testing Service (APHIS) testing documents show that Bimini’s proper veterinary care was repeatedly delayed or denied prior to her death.
“I’m sure Bimini was miserable until her death,” Green said. Greene was well versed in Bimini’s treatment through her work with Tidebreakers, an animal welfare group that seeks to end captivity and improve laws and conditions for protected marine animals. “She was chronically ill and suffered for a long time. Seaquarium says she is chronically ill and they did their best, but she is now dead, so what kind of care was she receiving?”
Dolphins endured “pain and suffering” according to USDA tests
According to the October 2023 USDA inspection report, Affith’s Veterinary Medical Officer discovered that Bimini was found with a broken metal bolt in his mouth. According to the same records, another dolphin stored at the facility was found in foreign objects in the throat, such as “two-inch claws, mangrove pods and small shell pieces.”
“Enclosures that are not properly repaired can produce foreign bodies that can be ingested and harmful to the animal,” the testing memo says.
Similarly, records reviewed by the Affith showed that many times the veterinarians at the facility “decided that a particular action was necessary, but the facility did not follow these actions, failed to schedule surgery and procedures, and failed to provide basic equipment to veterinary staff, anesthesia machine for emergencies.
According to the USDA inspection report in January 2024, Bimini’s condition did not improve in the following months. Bimini experienced “pain and suffering,” the document said as multiple broken ribs were broken during various healing stages resulting from attacks from other dolphins where she was housed. These fractures were observed on a February 2023 CT scan.
The dolphin company said the injury was diagnosed in 2021 and occurred “before ownership of the Miami Seaquarium Mashua,” which began in March 2022.
But Bimini’s poor treatment was consistent among owners, Wallace told USA Today.
“Bimini was one of my personal and professional turning points for me when I was hired at Miami Sicorium in 2021,” she said. “In spite of obvious defects in her chest, after reviewing ultrasound images of the fractured ribs and liquid around Bimini’s heart on the radiograph, staff refused to believe or admit her condition.”
Bimini’s history was extensive and included persistent and serious lung (lung) disease. Tracheal stenosis or inflammation or scar tissue that narrows the airway. Moderate to severe diffuse lung disease, or lung disease that causes scarring of lung tissue. Severe bronchiectasis; kidney stones and fluid swelling in the uterus.
As a result, Bimini showed difficulty breathing, which affected her quality of life, according to an affiliate veterinary medical officer who was undergoing the examination. The trainer told the inspector that Bimini was instructed to perform a limited number of stunts, but medical personnel observed breathing difficulties even when the dolphins had “approved” actions.
Veterinarians had prescribed imaging and testing in September 2023 to further address these concerns, but “due to a lack of veterinary staff, equipment and experts (CT imaging and anesthesia), no one was completed with the January 2024 examination.
“Bottle North Dolphins in the Atlantic with respiratory abnormalities often experience a rapid decline in health that can lead to pneumonia and death,” the report states. “They will need immediate veterinarian attention using appropriate diagnostic equipment to provide appropriate veterinary care and reduce suffering.”
Other aquatic mammals tested during the same examination are known to be “unwell” and have serious weights with visible spines, ribs and shoulder blades. Both tests highlighted the environmental issues in which the animals were housed, the dark water, and pointed out the collapsed infrastructure, the “strong harmful smell” and housing structures that remained unstable despite previous USDA instructions.
“There are several animals that are deemed important by (veterinarians) who need medical treatment, diagnostic evaluations, and medical procedures that are not provided to alleviate suffering,” the USDA report in January said.
Previous reports dating back to 2021 show that the collapsed structure has been discovered in concrete-like fragments of the stomach, showing multiple cases of animals. Multiple structures, including dolphin area decks, were criticized between 2021 and 2025.
“We’re screaming from the rooftop,” the activist says.
These and other conditions have been extensively documented, attracting the attention of authorities, including Miami-Dade, the USDA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC). However, despite promises to confiscate, close and improve conditions, the animals are still suffering, she said.
Reflecting his emotions, Wallace said that the treatment of poor animals has been too long in sea figures.
“This is one of the most tragic failures in animal welfare and federal surveillance. We hope that the Florida FWC and DOJ will help correct these mistakes that the USDA has failed to act,” she said.
NOOA sent USA Today back to Affith when asked for comment. USA Today contacted the FWC but did not receive a response.
“We are screaming from the rooftops that animals are being abused, to the county, to the federal agencies, but nothing happens,” Green said. “Even if a dolphin company bankruptcy and criminal investigation is insufficient to confiscate these animals and take them to a safe place. How many animals need to die before they are closed in the Miami sea?”
