The controversial chain of interactive wildlife facilities has long faced criticism from activists and violations from state wildlife agencies. Now SeaQuest will face court proceedings as the company looks to reorganize through bankruptcy.
According to court documents, SeaQuest reported between $500,001 and $1 million in estimated assets and between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities.
SeaQuest Littleton, which closed in February after years of problems with state regulations, appears to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last year, according to the bankruptcy filing.
Long List of Animal Violations
SeaQuest Littleton's license was pulled by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 2019 after over fifty injuries to staff and guests were reported from June 2018 to April 2019. But because the CPW license regulated only some of the species at SeaQuest, the operation was able to continue without licensing after replacing the animals in question with unregulated ones.The facility ran into more trouble with the state in 2021 after purchasing a snapping turtle, which is not permitted for aquariums in Colorado. SeaQuest was charged with illegal possession of the turtle and paid a fine.
In July 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture nailed SeaQuest Littleton with a critical citation because a sugar glider possum named Luna had to have half her tail amputated after getting stuck in a new enrichment structure that was added to her cage. SeaQuest also earned a citation for a 2022 incident in which a Savannah cat bit a small child while the employee supervising its enclosure was distracted with another patron.
As a result, all of the Savannah cats at the facility had to be quarantined away from humans because they are classified as a rabies vector species, and the employees were unsure which of the three cats had bitten the child. The cats were eventually replaced with "toygers," domestic cats bred to look like tigers.
After SeaQuest Littleton closed, animals still living at the facility found new homes at the Denver Zoo and Denver's Downtown Aquarium.
Nearly 130 rescued animals are now members of the Denver Zoo family, with fish and other aquatic species, wallabies, South African pancake tortoises and a toucan moved to the zoo from SeaQuest.
SeaQuest Littleton was just one branch of the national chain owned by Vince Covino, who, along with his brother, Ammon, has been connected with poor animal treatment in the past. Ammon was convicted of trafficking wildlife at his aquarium in Boise before he helped his brother open SeaQuest locations in Las Vegas and Layton, Utah.
In 2013, 200 animals died over a span of three months at the now-closed Portland Aquarium, which was owned by the Covino brothers. According to court documents, Vince Covino still owns over 70 percent of SeaQuest.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy is designed for reorganization rather than closure, so People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) still isn’t happy with the filing.
“This bankruptcy must not be a lifeline to keep this cruel and incompetent chain afloat,” Rebecca Smudzinski, associate director of captive wildlife for PETA, says in a statement. “PETA is calling on SeaQuest to shut down its remaining locations and surrender the surviving animals to reputable, financially responsible facilities that can finally get them the care they desperately need.”
SeaQuest did not reply to a request for comment.
