Protest Planned at Discovery Kingdom Over Alleged Animal Welfare Abuses

Advocates for Animals has scheduled a protest at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Saturday afternoon over the alleged poor care and death of dolphins at the Vallejo theme park.

The Bay Area grassroots organization claims 43 animals have died since Six Flags Discovery Kingdom took over the park in 1997.

The protest follows a wrongful termination lawsuit filed in Solano County Superior Court this month against Six Flags by Michael Muraco, the former Director of Animal Care, and his wife Holley Muraco, a zoological reproduction physiologist at the theme park.

The suit alleges the Muracos were fired in 2014 after they informed the U.S. Department of Agriculture and complained to Six Flags management about poor water quality and infrastructure, the lack of public safety measures that put animals, employees and patrons in danger at the park, improper diets for marine animals and subjecting dolphins to unnecessary drugs and surgical procedures.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom spokeswoman Nancy Chan was not immediately available for comment this morning.

The protest is scheduled for 12:30-2 p.m. along the frontage road at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom located at 1001 Fairgrounds Drive in Vallejo.

--Bay City News Service, photo courtesy of Discovery Kingdom