5 INVESTIGATES reporting prompts new legislation to crack down on SeaQuest
A Minnesota member of Congress has introduced a new bill to expand enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act in response to widespread allegations of neglect and exploitation at SeaQuest.
The chain of shopping mall aquariums with one location in Roseville has been under increasing scrutiny since 5 INVESTIGATES and ABC News uncovered repeated incidents putting animals, guests, and employees in danger.
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) introduced the Cold-blooded Animal Research and Exhibition (C.A.R.E.) Act on Friday. The legislation would expand the types of animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act to include cold-blooded animals and other marine life not currently protected by the law.
“My office has received complaints from dozens of Minnesotans reporting unsafe environments at such interactive facilities, including one in Roseville,” McCollum said. “But most of the species that are being exploited there are not currently protected under the AWA.”
In an interview with 5 INVESTIGATES on Friday, McCollum added that her bill has bipartisan support from fellow members of Congress with SeaQuest locations in their districts.
She added that her efforts will also include steps to better fund the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for inspecting facilities and businesses such as SeaQuest.
“One of my jobs is to make sure that we have the money to do these inspections and to hold these companies accountable and, when called for, shut them down,” McCollum said.
SeaQuest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aaron Zellhoefer, Minnesota state director of the Humane Society of the United States, welcomed the new legislation to better protect cold-blooded animals, not currently covered by the Animal Welfare Act.
“They’re all too often treated as disposable commodities and simply replaced when they perish from neglect,” Zellhoefer said. “Animal Welfare Act regulations would at least… provide these wild animals with minimum standards of care.”