The San Antonio Aquarium is a for-profit
aquarium located in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, subdivision_name = United States
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. The facility features a number of interactive exhibits where touching the animals is permitted.
The aquarium is owned and operated by Crysty Covino, the wife of former owner
Ammon Covino.
Controversies and violations
On July 30, 2018, two
robbers
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
abducted a female
grey horn shark named Miss Helen and transported her to their house. The
thieves
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
kept the shark alive and it was rescued by
San Antonio police officers and returned alive and well to the aquarium. Following the shark abduction, a public petition of more than 17,000 (61,000 as of January 2020) signatories requested the aquarium to close its touch pool containing a variety of aquatic animals. The petition cited the dangers of touch pools can have on the animals, namely due to the stress and potential injury inflicted by aquarium guests.
In October 2018, the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
cited the aquarium for the use of untrained lemurs due to the numerous instances of biting and scratching facility visitors.
In November 2018, the
Leon Valley Fire Department shut down and evacuated the facility due to a number of safety hazards related to electrical and mechanical systems.
During the
2020 coronavirus pandemic,
Leon Valley Police twice shut down the facility for violating emergency orders prohibiting groups of 10 or more.
See also
*
Austin Aquarium
The Austin Aquarium is a for profit aquarium located in Austin, Texas, United States, that opened to the public December 12, 2013 and includes birds, fish and other amphibians. The aquarium is owned and operated by Crysty Covino the wife of form ...
*
SeaQuest Interactive Aquariums
SeaQuest Holdings, LLC better known as just SeaQuest, is an interactive marine, exotic mammal, and bird/reptile life attraction chain. It was founded by Vince Covino and features hands-on animal interactions at shopping malls throughout the Unite ...
References
External links
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{{Covino Aquarium Business
Aquaria in Texas This category is for public aquariums in Texas, United States.
Zoos in Texas
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and wi ...