Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, Florida has been raided by US law enforcement and wildlife officials due to animal welfare concerns.
James Uthmeier, the Florida attorney general, confirmed that Florida’s Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) executed a search warrant at his request at Gulf World on 27 March.
“While this investigation is in the beginning stages, we will not tolerate any animal abuse in Florida,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Local media reports that four dolphins have died at Gulf World in the past year – three in October and a fourth earlier this month while performing tricks for an audience.
Gulf World Marine Park is owned and operated by the Dolphin Company.
The warrant came after the Dolphin Company refused access to FWC rangers attempting to check on dolphins at Gulf World on 22 March.
Dolphin deaths prompt investigation
This was in response to “concerning reports related to the sanitation and condition of aquatic enclosures and the health and welfare of captive bottlenose dolphins” at Gulf World, the FWC said in a statement.
The FWC’s captive wildlife investigators were “denied entry by park personnel to conduct a wellness check and to view dolphin enclosures by Gulf World staff as the enclosures are under the jurisdiction of the federal government”, it said.
Phil Demers, director of animal welfare organisation UrgentSeas, told the BBC: “We’ve been documenting and publishing videos of Gulf World’s distressing conditions and will continue until those animals are urgently rescued.
“My concern is that those animals will be forced to remain in place as conditions continue to deteriorate.”
Earlier this year, the Marineland theme park in Antibes, France closed down due to a 2021 law banning live shows with dolphins and whales in the country.
Lead image credit: The Dolphin Company
