Our Passion for Animals and the World-Class Care They Receive

As you can imagine, caring for thousands of animals -- including the many we rescue each year – is  quite an undertaking. Our passionate animal care team is among the best in the world.  

Here are some facts about our animal care: 

We are accredited members of three of the foremost professional animal care and zoological organizations: American Human, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums (AMMPA). Fewer than two dozen institutions in the U.S. have been certified by American Humane, and fewer than 10% of the animal exhibitors in the U.S. are AZA-accredited. The AMMPA also requires similar application and on-site review processes for accreditation.

Each and every one of the animals we care for receives a “check-up” each year.  These preventative health measures help ensure all of our animals healthy and provide insights into the broader knowledge about their species that might be difficult to study in the wild. For example, studying species like orcas, or even tigers or elephants, can sometimes be extremely difficult or even impossible in the wild. 

We work with some of the world’s top veterinary and animal care experts, including one of only twenty-five animal nutritionists in the world.Thanks to the work of this nutritionist and the animal care teams, each of the animals at SeaWorld’s parks receives a diet that is specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of that animal to help ensure they stay healthy and thriving. And with more than 85,000 animals, our nutritionist stays busy. 

Each of the SeaWorld parks has an animal hospital onsite with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.  Our animal care center at Busch Gardens actually allows for guests to watch operations first-hand, narrated by the vet performing the procedure.

In addition to being globally-recognized, our parks, programs and policies are overseen by many federal and state laws, including the Animal Welfare Act, Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act