BOISE, Idaho — Boise-based company SeaQuest filed for bankruptcy this week amid animal abuse allegations.
The national chain owns several shopping mall aquariums around the country; none are in Idaho. That includes California, Utah, Nevada, Minnesota and New Jersey.
The filing comes nearly a year after SeaQuest sued an Idahoan who previously worked there.
The company claims Lana Westbrook violated her non-disclosure agreement after speaking out about how the company treats animals. She worked for SeaQuest's marketing department in 2019.
The bankruptcy filing shows the company's revenue has dropped by $12 million since 2022. The documents also indicate SeaQuest did not pay rent in certain instances and owes dozens of people for unpaid wages.
One of Westbrook's attorneys, Steffan Seitz, said it was only a matter of time before the company ran into financial trouble. He works for The Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, which is under the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law.
"I think there's a clear misallocation of resources and a clear lack of prioritizing things that actually matter," he said. "So, the fact that there's financial dysfunction going on behind the scenes is not terribly surprising."
KTVB's sister station in Sacramento has covered the allegations extensively. Their team worked on a joint investigation with ABC News that uncovered "alarming" allegations of animal neglect and customers getting hurt,
KTVB reached out to SeaQuest's attorneys but has not heard back.
Westbrook's case is still ongoing in Ada County. Her attorneys are trying to get the case dismissed. They claim she did not violate her contract by speaking out against SeaQuest.