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Residents press Woodbridge council to investigate SeaQuest after multiple alleged animal deaths
Summary
Multiple residents and former employees told the council SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium in the Woodbridge Center Mall has a history of animal deaths, alleged neglect and unsanitary conditions; the township said it is aware of regulatory probation and is cooperating with state agencies.
Dozens of residents and former SeaQuest employees told the Woodbridge Township Council during its public‑comment period that SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium should be closed and investigated after what speakers described as years of neglect and animal deaths.
At the microphone, Jessica Mayer Vivineto of Avenel said "100 animals have died there since 02/2019," alleging repeated failures including escapes, overcrowding, inadequate veterinary care and heat‑lamp burns. Several other speakers, including former employees Caitlin Whitney and Kate Selen, gave detailed accounts of overcrowded tanks, cockroach infestations and repeated animal fatalities. Whitney described a series of parakeet deaths she said escalated from single figures to more than 20 and said staff kept dead birds in a freezer. "18 dead birds, by the way, eventually turned into 21," Whitney said, recounting her experience.
Speakers raised both animal‑welfare and public‑health concerns; Whitney warned of zoonotic risks including psittacosis and urged the council to act, while Maxine King and others said the township's animal‑control or health‑department contact information was not made readily available to complainants. Many callers urged the township to work with state regulators and federal agencies to remove vulnerable animals — one petitioner asked that a solitary pig named "George" be moved to sanctuary.
Township officials responded at the meeting that the municipal public‑health department works with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and that they were aware SeaQuest has been placed on probation by the DEP. Council staff said the probation was expected to end around Sept. 27 and that the township was cooperating with regulatory authorities; no township action to close the facility was announced at the meeting.
The council did not vote on any SeaQuest‑specific enforcement action at the session. Residents said they will continue to protest and press for investigation, and several asked the township to publish clear complaint contacts for residents who witness suspected animal‑welfare violations.
