SeaQuest aquarium files for bankruptcy, faces investigations in Minnesota

The voicemail at SeaQuest Holdings’ corporate headquarters proudly says “it’s a great day at SeaQuest,” but the Idaho-based company that operates interactive aquariums and hands-on adventures with mammals and birds in shopping malls is in a heap of trouble.

The company this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it is under investigation in Minnesota over conditions at its location in Rosedale Center.

SeaQuest has closed five locations across the country in recent months after reports of animal abuse and neglect, dangerous human-animal interactions and filthy conditions came to light. Though the Roseville aquarium remains one of five across the nation still open, the location has failed five inspections due to many of the same problems documented elsewhere in recent months, according to inspection reports from United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Overall, SeaQuest has violated portions of the federal Animal Welfare Act more than 100 times at its locations between 2019 and 2024, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Animal activist groups across the country, including locally, have called out Seaquest for its practices.

SeaQuest has seen a big drop in gross revenue, which has fallen from $27 million two years ago to just over $15 million so far this year, according to the filings turned in Monday in Boise, Idaho.

In Roseville, SeaQuest has cut hours and admission prices in recent months and owes Rosedale Center more than $459,500 in unpaid rent, court documents show. SeaQuest had assets of less than $1 million and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million as of Monday, the filings show.

Calls to SeaQuest’s headquarters went to voicemail, but in court filings, Chief Executive Officer Aaron Neilsen said the company experienced “unprecedented disruption” during the COVID-19 pandemic and that “was the catalyst that caused the current situation to transpire.”

SeaQuest’s bankruptcy did not come as a surprise to Aaron Zellhoefer, the state’s director of the Humane Society of the United States.

“I applaud consumers for making a smart business decision,” he said. “They have a clear pattern of neglecting animal welfare.”

USDA inspections in Roseville between May and October showed, among many findings, that feces were present on the floor, animals were exposed to electrical cords and the facility lacked an effective program to control insects and rodents. Inspectors also noted that an attending veterinarian was not on site to conduct quarterly evaluations, and the facility was not following appropriate methods to prevent and treat injured animals.

Last summer, the Humane Society of the United States placed undercover investigators in SeaQuest locations in Fort Worth, Texas and Las Vegas. In November, the organization released a video showing rodent and maggot infestations near animals’ food and visitors and staff. Clips from the two locations showed animals begging for food, being stepped on, and distressed and running in circles to avoid interactions with people. After the society’s investigations, the Texas and Nevada locations shut down.

“Our investigations reveal that SeaQuest animals are confined to live in dark, hot, filthy spaces with no windows, fresh air or proper enrichment. Basic mental, physical and behavioral health requirements of the animals are simply ignored,” said Laura Hagen, director of captive wildlife for the Humane Society of the United States. “Wild animals are surrounded for hours by loud crowds poking and grabbing them, day after day. These disgraceful, negligent operations abuse animals to turn a profit and the public needs to know how cruel and dangerous they really are.”

In court filings, Neilsen said SeaQuest features more than 300 species of animals at its remaining locations, including some which are endangered or threatened. “Seaquest provides a culture for those animals to breed and multiply, thus helping preserve the species,” he wrote in the filings.

While details are scarce, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources spokesman Joe Albert confirmed an “active investigation” was underway. A case has been presented to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office for consideration for charges, spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said.

When contacted, Rosedale’s landlord, Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate company, did not say whether SeaQuest Rosedale’s lease would continue. For now, the venue remains open.

In an emergency hearing Thursday in Boise, Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Hursh granted SeaQuest’s request to use cash collateral in the interim to cover wages, benefits and other operational costs to “avoid immediate and irreparable harm.”

“You have animals that have to be cared for,” the judge said.

A final hearing was scheduled for Dec. 20.