USDA report details alleged animal abuse involving Miami Seaquarium’s dolphins

A damning USDA inspection report was released Friday, detailing repeated instances of alleged animal abuse at Miami Seaquarium.

The report states that dolphins have been deprived of food to get them to perform better for guests.

Those dolphins then allegedly became more aggressive with both trainers and members of the public.

According to the report, diets were dramatically reduced for the nine dolphins in Dolphin Harbor — a whopping 60% cut to the dolphins’ daily food rations, which resulted in very thin animals.

One dolphin weighed 615 pounds on March 5 and 511 pounds on July 2 – a loss of 104 pounds, the report stated.

According to the report, as a result of being deprived of food, some of the dolphins became more aggressive with both trainers and members of the public who were engaging in swim with dolphin interactions.

“On July 7th, during a training session, Cayman rammed a trainer in deep water. The 3-trainer team attempted multiple redirections to help the trainer in the water get out,” the report stated.

The report goes on to say that a review of trainer records for the dolphins at Dolphin Harbor identified multiple aggressive incidents when a dolphin “mouthed” a member of the public during an in-water interaction.

Local 10 News has reached out to Miami Seaquarium for comment and they have agreed to an interview.

We will have it for you beginning on Local 10 News at 3 p.m.

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