Animals potentially removed from Gulf World Marine Park
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – There's been some activity at Gulf World Marine Park that is leading some people to believe animals are being moved from the facility.
The activity follows Tuesday's bankruptcy court announcement that former owner, the dolphin company, has hired an animal welfare expert that's already checking the companies different parks.
Some of the animals may have been moved from Gulf World.
On the park's website, they've removed some of the encounter experiences. The second clue is some photos taken inside the park.
Gulf World Marine Park's website no longer offers the sea lion encounter, seal lion meet and greet, and the harbor seal encounter.
Gulf World loses International Alliance Accreditation
On another page, the company states the sea lion stadium is closed for renovations.It is unclear when the activities involving the animals stopped.
Then Wednesday, the Facebook page called Tidebreakers featured pictures of empty pools at Gulf World. Tidebreakers has been following the Gulf World story for several months.
However, the concern over the sea lions and seals is not new.
USDA inspection reports, dating as far back as a year, show several problems with the sea lion stadium. The reports highlight the main concerns as chipped paint in pools, rusting, and broken concrete.
The latest inspection in January found these problems and more. Inspectors found a 'deteriorating' shade structure over the public seating area of the sea lion stadium and a broken ramp for the animals.
At that time, the facility was housing four sea lions and two seals.
There's no word as to how many were there earlier this month, and if they're still there or they've been move elsewhere.
News 13 spoke with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday.
Officials confirm their investigation of Gulf World Marine Park is still active.
The Dolphin Company officials and the company that's handling the reorganizational bankruptcy are expected to talk more about the animals at the next court hearing on May 5th.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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