This version of Romeo and Juliet could have a happy ending.
A pair of aging manatees living in “ever-deteriorating conditions” at a Florida aquarium since 1956 will be relocated following complaints by an animal rights group and a damning report by the USDA about the conditions at the park.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said the manatees, named Romeo and Juliet after Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers, will live out their remaining years in a sanctuary where their medical and social needs can be more carefully attended to, according to the Guardian.
Drone footage captured last month by advocacy group UrgentSeas and posted on X provided a bird’s-eye view of Romeo, 67, living in dismal isolation at the Miami Seaquarium.
In the heartbreaking video, the mammal was shown swimming all by himself in the brackish water of the aquarium’s dilapidated “Pompano Pools,” which are closed off to the public, where the animal rights group said he’s confined “all the time.”
“Manatees are semi-social animals and suffer psychologically when not living in pairs or groups,” read the caption on the video, which had been viewed more than 3 million times.
The release of the footage was part of the group’s #FreeRomeo campaign which had been active on social media.
Former marine mammal trainer and UrgentSeas founder Phil Demers, who has described Romeo’s lonely life as “Groundhog Day in hell,” was overjoyed at the news of the mammals’ imminent freedom.
“It’s a humbling experience to be a part of such a powerful and effective movement. It’s every activist’s dream to inspire change. I’m incredibly proud of the work of UrgentSeas,” he said.
A scathing inspection report by the USDA in July cited multiple failings by the aquarium to provide its animals with proper veterinary care and adequate living facilities.
In one example, after an associate veterinarian’s employment was terminated by the Seaquarium on March 23, a single vet was left to care for the 46 marine animals and “hundreds of birds, fish, sharks and rays housed at the facility,” the USDA wrote in its report.
The inspectors also found the aquarium was out of compliance with requirements to keep “primarily social” animals like manatees housed at all times with “at least one compatible animal of the same or biologically related species.”
As a result of the report, the Miami-Dade Board of Commissioners set a deadline of Dec. 15 for the Seaquarium to address its numerous violations. UrgentSeas had planned to hold a demonstration at the Seaquarium the next day.
A spokesperson for Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava told the Guardian that the Commission had issued a notice of default to The Dolphin Company, the Mexico-headquartered parent of Miami Seaquarium and that it was prepared to exercise its “option to all available remedies within the law” should it fail to meet its deadline to remedy the infractions.
FWS has not revealed the future home of Romeo and Juliet but told the Guardian that it’s looking at facilities that are part of the manatee rescue and rehabilitation partnership, a cohort of accredited aquariums, zoos and marine life centers where the animals can enjoy a vastly improved quality of life.
“FWS takes the health and welfare of manatees in managed care seriously [and is] working with an experienced team of manatee rescue and rehabilitation experts through the MRP to assist with the transport effort of manatees from Miami Seaquarium,” the Service said in a statement to the Guardian.
The mammals are expected to be transported to their new home as early as next week.