This is a tale of deplorable roadside attractions and insidious corporate manipulation designed to evade regulatory intervention. It’s a tale of the alleged inhumane treatment of marine mammals in captivity, nestled in the heart of one of sunny Florida’s most popular tourist destinations.
In March 2024, the deaths of four dolphins in less than six months coupled with viral videos of animals swimming in filthy, bright green water at Gulf World in Panama City Beach sparked worldwide outrage. There were protests, a raid by local law enforcement and the state attorney general launched a criminal investigation stating definitively “we will not tolerate any animal cruelty.” It seemed inevitable that authorities would rescue and relocate the animals who were suffering at the deteriorating roadside attraction.
But over a month has passed since the worldwide outrage over the dolphin deaths at Gulf World, animals there are still in the same horrifying conditions. Conditions that are directly tied to the dolphin deaths — like repeated exposure to contaminated water — violate both state and federal law. So what happened? Gulf World, which was built in 1969, is owned by The Dolphin Company. The self-proclaimed “No. 1 Dolphin Company in the world” operates three other parks in Florida: Marineland (built in 1938), the Miami Seaquarium (built in 1955) and Dolphin Connection (built in 1990). In addition to conditions that are not safe for animals, the Seaquarium and Gulf World reportedly have condemned buildings that are not safe for the public. Federal laws like the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Animal Welfare Act are supposed to protect animals like dolphins who are exhibited to the public for profit, and federal agencies have the power to confiscate animals when a facility violates these laws.
Sadly, the federal agencies often simply document the conditions with no meaningful action taken for the animals. Additionally, under Florida law, it is illegal to subject animals, including dolphins, to conditions causing unnecessary pain or suffering. Yet the animals at Gulf World allegedly remain in gruesome conditions which have led to four deaths in less than six months. What went wrong? Here’s how it unfolded. On March 31, The Dolphin Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. The bankruptcy filing protects Gulf World by temporarily stopping everything from debt collections to confiscations. Animals like dolphins are considered property, which makes them assets or collateral controlled by the bankruptcy court. Unfortunately, bankruptcy courts typically prioritize finances over animal welfare. If the animals are confiscated and relocated to other facilities, debtors can no longer use them to pay off debts. A trained bottlenose dolphin can sell for as much as $1 million.
Instead of ending the horror show for the animals at Gulf World, the bankruptcy is only prolonging their suffering. So the dolphins are stuck in the dirty green water. It’s hard to imagine the benefit of leaving the dolphins in these deplorable conditions. Something smells fishy. In the movie “Free Willy,” the greedy owners of a failing marine park sabotage the whale’s tank in hopes he’ll die so they can collect his $1 million insurance policy. In October 2024, bottlenose dolphins Gus, Turk and Nate died within a week of each other at Gulf World. Just one month later the water filtration for the dolphins broke. Then on March 1, Gulf World lost a fourth dolphin, Jett, when he broke his neck performing a jump during a show and landing in the shallow part of the tank. Perhaps dead animals have no value to creditors, but perhaps The Dolphin Company has life insurance policies that make their dolphins valuable even in death. That would explain the complete and utter disregard for the most basic standards, like taking precautions before construction and providing clean water and safe environments. While it would be wonderful for the dolphins at Gulf World to be rescued and moved, sanctuaries simply do not exist in North America. That didn’t stop The Dolphin Company from convincing the public they were retiring their only orca to a sanctuary across the country in 2023. Instead it kept her in an allegedly illegal, crumbling and leaking tank at the Miami Seaquarium, where she died several months later. Perhaps the whale had a life insurance policy? If The Dolphin Company’s creditors want their money, the animals need to stay alive. Which means they must be moved to safety immediately, preferably to other facilities not owned or operated by The Dolphin Company — which in my view, has shown itself to be both incapable and unconcerned with caring for marine mammals. Gulf World is past the point of salvaging, but it’s not too late for the animals to get rescued and have the happy ending they deserve.
