Company at center of probe into dolphin deaths at Gulf World Marine Park files for bankruptcy

Yahoo

02-04-2025

The Dolphin Company, owners of embattled Florida theme park and marine entertainment venue Gulf World Marine Park, has filed for bankruptcy amid protests and a formal investigation into conditions at the park.
The Dolphin Company and 15 affiliated ventures are listed in court documents as being under the ownership of Leisure Investments Holdings LLC. The Cancun, Mexico-based operator filed for Chapter 11 protection on March 31 in Delaware Bankruptcy Court, seeking $8 million in debtor-in-possession funding, or financing that will be used for restructuring in hopes of keeping the company afloat.
The Dolphin Company, then called Dolphin Discovery, acquired Gulf World from a private owner and former CEO Ron Hardy for $15 million in 2015, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY. The park is located in Panama City Beach.
Activists, members of the public and now politicians and government officials have called for investigations into the company, and specifically, its Gulf World location, after reports of animal mistreatment.
USA TODAY contacted The Dolphin Company and Gulf World Marine Park on Tuesday but has not received a response.
Concerns over conditions at the park began circling in October when three bottlenose dolphins died in just one week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) marine mammal inventory report later listed the causes of death, as reported by Gulf World, as euthanasia due to an unspecified life-threatening condition, a bacterial lung disease, and a systemic infection. These deaths are believed by veterinarians to have been related to construction happening near the pools where the animals were housed.
Jett, a 14-year-old bottlenose dolphin, died from acute head trauma during the first weekend of March, as reported by the News Herald. Jett suffered the injury after performing a jump in the air for a trick and landing in the shallow part of his pool.
This, paired with drone footage shared by TideBreakers, an anti-captivity advocacy group, sparked public concern. The videos, taken on March 16 and 17, show dolphins swimming in cloudy and bright green water within a decaying enclosure. This is the same enclosure in which the first three dolphins who died, Nate (20), Gus (14) and Turk (15), lived.
The filtering system for one pool has been down since November 2024 and another only operates at about 50%, according to a USDA inspection report from January. Other violations included crumbling infrastructure, a lack of shade and two structures in such bad condition that they were closed by a building inspector in January 2023, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY and the News Herald. Several inspection records found issues at the park between January 2023 and March 2024.
The January report found that conditions had not significantly improved despite Gulf World representatives' claims that the cited issues were being, or had been, resolved.
Other findings from inspection reports revealed that multiple pools — including the main sea lion stadium pool — were in a state of disrepair with dripping rust, chipping paint, algae buildup and broken concrete. In one instance mentioned in an October 2023 report, a piece of concrete from a crumbling pool ended up in a bottlenose dolphin's mouth, trainers told inspectors.
"The animals at Gulf World need to be moved to safety immediately before more die," Valerie Greene, a former trainer of 11 years at SeaWorld Orlando and former chair of the International Marine Animal Trainers' Association, told USA TODAY. "They need to go to safe and clean facilities that are not owned or operated by The Dolphin Company ... Simply put, Gulf World needs to be closed. The park is so dilapidated that it's past the point of salvaging."
Greene said sanctuaries are not an option for these animals, as none exist in North America and it would take months to get permits to move them elsewhere. That is time the animals don't have, according to Greene.
On March 25, the city of Panama City Beach sent out a press release saying it is working with local, state and federal officials to address issues at the park. Representatives for the park were invited but chose not to attend, the News Herald reported.
The conditions caught the attention of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who said he directed his office to work with law enforcement and conduct an investigation in a March 25 post on X.
"We will not tolerate any animal cruelty," he said.
The park has reportedly denied access to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers and local health department authorities attempting to conduct inspections in the recent past.
Law enforcement agencies were spotted outside the park on March 27, where FWC vehicles and Panama City Beach Police Chief Eusebio Talamantez were seen entering and exiting the facility as drones flew overhead. Employees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were also on the scene.
"The (FWC) takes the health and welfare of all wildlife, including Florida's marine mammals, very seriously," FWC public affairs officer Christopher Boley said in a statement to the News Herald. "Due to growing concern about the sanitation and condition of the aquatic enclosures, as well as the well-being of captive bottlenose dolphins at Gulf World Marine Park, FWC has joined partner agencies to conduct a thorough investigation of the facility."
A protest was staged outside the facility on March 29, during which citizens expressed concern for the 12 remaining dolphins inside.
"My apartment pool in my complex is bigger than the pool the 12 dolphins are kept in every night," one protester told the News Herald. "I would love to see someone go in and rehab it...to use it to actually rehabilitate."
The Dolphin Company runs 31 parks and marine habitats in eight countries, with four marine parks located in Florida. Besides Gulf World, Dolphin Connection in Duck Key, Marineland in St Augustine and the Miami Seaquarium are all under the company's ownership and management, something that raises alarm bells for Greene.
"The biggest issue moving forward with similar situations at other facilities is the ones we've faced with Gulf World and its sister park, the Miami Seaquarium," said Greene, who has also expressed serious concerns about conditions at the Miami Seaquarium for some time.
Despite frequent complaints to agencies like the USDA, NOAA and FWC, who all have varying degrees of jurisdiction, the wheels of bureaucracy turn excruciatingly slowly, if at all, said Greene, and animals continue to suffer in the meantime.
"The federal agencies do nothing more than document the violations of the law when they should be fining and revoking facility licenses," she said.
At least one lawsuit surrounding the Seaquarium is currently underway. Former marine animal trainer and vocal critic of the facility, Phil Demers, was sued by Seaquarium's parent company in 2023 for allegedly flying an unauthorized drone over the facility, sharing unauthorized pictures and defamation. Demers' legal counsel has denied wrongdoing. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
"We will be glad if this hellhole closes, but fear for the safety of the animals under The Dolphin Company's negligence and wanton disregard for their health," Chris Carraway, staff attorney at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, who is defending Demers, said in a statement. "Bankruptcy is the natural result of focusing on frivolous lawsuits to shut down criticism rather than providing care to animals."
USA TODAY has asked the Florida FWC, USDA and NOAA if investigations will expand to other Dolphin Company-run facilities.
Gulf World Marine Park is a separate entity from Gulf World Marine Institute, a nonprofit that rescues, rehabilitates and releases marine mammals and sea turtles in the Florida Panhandle.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Dolphin Company files for bankruptcy amid probe in Panama City Beach, Florida