Ex-CEO Of Ocean Theme Parks Defends Record After Dolphin Deaths
Another dolphin has died in an aquatic park operated by The Dolphin Company, the fifth in the last year as an executive and lenders fight for control of the bankrupt company.
Independent managers in the US were unable to get help investigating the cause of the death from company veterinarians in Mexico, where Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Albor maintains control of the headquarters and some of the parks. Operations in Europe, the US and the Caribbean are under the control of lender-appointed managers.
The dolphin, named Robin, died at one of the attractions in Italy last month, said Robert Wagstaff, chief restructuring officer for the lender-controlled side of the business. Wagstaff was hired by a newly installed independent director in March.
Wagstaff and Albor testified in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday as part of a fight over the company's Mexican operations. Under questioning by his lawyer, Albor insisted that his top priority was protecting about 300 dolphins and other animals that are the main attractions at the parks and also serve as collateral for the lenders.
"Other than people safety, animal health care comes first," Albor said. "We don't look at this as strictly business. This is a mission that we have."
Wagstaff testified that after he was appointed by lenders, he discovered serious financial problems that threatened operations at some the US parks. At one point a park was closed for 10 days because worker compensation insurance benefits had not been paid, he said.
Locks Changed
The lenders have been trying to remove Albor since last year when the company defaulted on about $100 million in debt. Albor has used court cases in Mexico to try to block lenders from taking over the company and to remove their representatives from the headquarters in Cancun.
Last month, Albor, with help from state police officers, took back control of the headquarters building, which the executive owns. After putting the corporation into bankruptcy in the US, lenders had temporarily changed the locks on the building, including on Albor's personal office.
The two sides have been fighting over company records, computer systems and access to employees who are needed to operate the Mexican businesses.
US Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Silverstein must decide whether to take action against Albor or allow him to keep trying to fight the lenders in court in Mexico. The lenders want Silverstein to order Albor to cooperate with their efforts to reorganize the parks, including those in Mexico.
Caught between the two sides are employees and animals spread among the company's various parks. The dolphins, sea lions and other animals are both the main attractions and valuable collateral for the lenders. Albor denied that he ordered the company's most senior vets in Mexico not to cooperate with the lender-installed managers in the US.
Florida authorities opened investigations following the premature deaths of bottlenose dolphins at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach. Jett, a 14-year-old dolphin, died in March from acute head trauma after hitting the shallow portion of the pool during a live show. Three other dolphins at Gulf World died within days of each other in October, according to court records.
US Department of Agriculture inspectors said in a January report that multiple enclosures housing marine mammals were "in disrepair" and said algae growth in pools had reduced dolphins' visibility.
While describing the pools, the report said a USDA inspector scraped algae off a step "that was almost 6 inches in length." Valerie Greene, a former Sea World trainer and animal welfare advocate, shared the USDA report with Bloomberg News. The report also noted rust on sea lion pools where animals were swimming.
Company bankruptcy lawyer Robert Brady said at a hearing last month that US advisers hired an outside animal welfare expert who oversaw the transfer of sea lions out of Gulf World after Florida authorities forced the company to close a pen for necessary maintenance.
The case is Leisure Investments Holdings LLC, number 25-10606, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
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