San Antonio Aquarium owners under investigation in 220 marine animal deaths

The San Antonio Aquarium in Leon Valley will open December 2014 and will be located at the former Fiesta Dodge dealership, which has been vacant since 2008. The San Antonio Aquarium in Leon Valley will open December 2014 and will be located at the former Fiesta Dodge dealership, which has been vacant since 2008. Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close San Antonio Aquarium owners under investigation in 220 marine animal deaths 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO -- An owner of the San Antonio Aquarium was under investigation in Oregon for the deaths of more than 200 marine animals last year, but the investigation netted "no evidence to charge on," a spokeswoman from the agency said.

The San Antonio Aquarium is owned by a group of people, including Vince Covino, who also operates aquariums in Portland and Austin.

Ammon Covino, who was affiliated with aquariums in Austin and Portland, was sentenced to a year in federal prison in December 2013 for illegally shipping sharks and stingrays from Florida to Idaho.

In the Portland investigation, the Oregon Humane Society, which has two officers with police power, allege mistreatment, ranging from starvation and high temperatures to animal-on-animal attacks. The investigation remains open but the agency did not find "any evidence to charge on" and has reached an impasse until further information comes to light, said Barbara Baugnon, marketing communications director with the Oregon Humane Society.

As part of Ammon Covino sentence, he was barred from working with wildlife exhibits or purchasing animals for two years. He is not currently involved in the San Antonio aquarium but "may become director or employee down the road," Vince Covino told the San Antonio Express-News Wednesday.

"We were aware of those issues and were assured by the developer that the issues are being addressed and the facility here would be operated at the highest standard and in a professional manner," said Manny Longoria, city manager for Leon Valley. "We will be very, very diligent in ensuring the aquarium is operating at that level."

Vince Covino said via email Wednesday the company Ammon Covino purchased the sharks from did not have permits to ship or sell the animals across state lines. But those sharks are "healthy and doing well," he said.

Vince Covino said the investigation by the Oregon Humane Society, which helps enforce state animal cruelty laws, is based on a "fraudulent death log." He said he proactively reached out to the agency last year but has not received a response.

"We have reached out to the Oregon Humane Society several times to work with them and they refuse to answer our calls," said Alui Cleaver, cheif operating officer for the aquarium group.

"The report of the dead fish includes a log showing a snail dying of 'congestive heart failure' and another fish dying of 'depression.' It lists feeder fish that are, of course, intended to be food just as they are in the ocean," Vince Covino wrote in the email. "We do not employ a cardiologist nor a psychiatrist, nor do snails have hearts."

You can read the entire log here.

Alexis Sadoti, media coordinator for PETA, told the Express-News that the Covino brothers "have an appalling track record."

"There is nothing educational about viewing and interacting with animals who have been warehoused in unnatural settings that deprive them of everything natural and important to them," Sadoti said. "The mortality rates for animals in these types of invasive tanks are staggering."

Covino said the animals at the San Antonio Aquarium "have better health care and medicine than most Americans."

"We also feel very confident that we always have and always will provide a healthy and safe environment for our animals," he said.

Construction of the enclosures at the 50,000 square-foot aquarium in Leon Valley began last week at the former Fiesta Dodge dealership located at 6320 Bandera Road, just outside of Loop 410.

Longoria said Leon Valley provided tax incentives over a 10-year period to Bandera Road Holdings, which is leasing the 13-acre property to the San Antonio Aquarium.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker