The Dolphin Company Is Tanking—But the Animals Shouldn’t Have to Go Down With It

The Dolphin Company—the multinational parent of the embattled Miami Seaquarium and Gulf World Marine Park—has filed for bankruptcy, seeking $8 million in financing to stay afloat. But let’s be clear: a business model built on animal suffering should not be saved.

This bankruptcy filing comes after months of shocking headlines, heartbreaking whistleblower reports, and damning government investigations. It’s not just about financial mismanagement. It’s about a company that has consistently failed the animals in its care—allowing them to languish in dirty tanks, endure inadequate medical care, and perform for profit in outdated facilities that put revenue over responsibility. 

Gulf World Marine Park, one of The Dolphin Company’s many properties, had four dolphins die in under a year. And now, the city of Panama City Beach is working with local, state, and federal officials to address animal welfare conditions at the park. The horrific conditions have even caught the attention of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is working with law enforcement to conduct investigations of the park’s conditions after the park denied access to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct inspections.

But we don’t need another tragic death to see the pattern: animals are suffering, and The Dolphin Company can’t—or won’t—provide the care they deserve. Former trainers have even said the park is “past the point of salvaging.”

The Miami Seaquarium, arguably The Dolphin Company’s most infamous venue, also had trainers and former marine mammal vets argue for its closure. Miami Seaquarium has been a hotspot for animal welfare violations for years, and the animals are still suffering at the park to this day.

Miami Seaquarium was once home to Lolita, the orca who spent over five decades confined in the smallest orca tank in North America until her death in 2023. Since then, more animals have died at the venue, and the head veterinarian resigned due to animal welfare concerns. From drone footage showing dolphins, rays, and sharks swimming in algae-filled, barren concrete tanks, to USDA reports revealing a nail lodged in a dolphin’s throat and a bolt found in another’s mouth—The Dolphin Company continues to prove that it cannot and will not do right by the animals forced to live at their parks.

Even Miami-Dade County agrees. The county terminated the Seaquarium’s lease in March 2024, citing persistent animal welfare violations. By April 21, 2024, The Dolphin Company was supposed to vacate the property, but have since filed lawsuits against the eviction.

Cameron Harsh, Director of Programs at World Animal Protection US, said it best:

“The Dolphin Company’s bankruptcy proves what animal advocates have said all along: exploiting wild animals for entertainment is cruel, outdated, and doomed to fail. Wild animals don’t belong in tanks or cages—they belong in their natural habitats. Animals who are freed from captivity should be rehomed in reputable sanctuaries, where possible, where their needs come before profits.”

Now more than ever, we need to ensure that the animals exploited by The Dolphin Company don’t remain victims of the animal entertainment industry. Bankruptcy is not an excuse to bail The Dolphin Company out. It’s an opportunity to do what's right.

It’s time for The Dolphin Company to shut its doors—for good—and work with credible sanctuaries and animal welfare experts to move every animal to a facility where they’ll never have to perform again.

Join us in demanding an end to the exploitation. Tell The Dolphin Company: close the parks and stop exploiting animals now.