WOODBRIDGE – Multiple animal advocacy groups led by Shut Down SeaQuest Woodbridge descended upon the Woodbridge Center Mall on Jan. 3, calling for the shutdown of SeaQuest.
Members peacefully protested the alleged abuse and exploitation taking place at the SeaQuest in Woodbridge with signs including “Animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” “Don’t lie to your child this place hurts animals” and “Honk against animal abuse” as well as the alleged history of mistreatment of animals and unsatisfactory conditions in their locations in Las Vegas, Littleton, Colorado, Folsom, California, and Fort Worth, Texas.
Local animal activists have been protesting outside the mall since the news SeaQuest was opening at Woodbridge Center.
The SeaQuest in Woodbridge, which held a grand opening on Nov. 30 with Woodbridge Township officials members and Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce, is the company’s first New Jersey location.
Woodbridge Center is now home to more than 1,000 animals representing five continents, according to the opening press release. The 23,000-square-foot space offers guests an interactive animal experience. The newest SeaQuest location in Woodbridge features numerous interactive adventures such as feeding stingrays and snorkeling in Caribbean Cove, walking into an aviary in the Amazon Rainforest, petting furry animals in the Outback, and holding reptiles in the Egyptian Desert, the release said.
Multiple requests for comment from SeaQuest, which has locations in Utah, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Connecticut, Virginia and Florida, were not returned before press time.
