Woodbridge Aquarium & Wildlife — Attraction in Woodbridge Township

SeaQuest Woodbridge may have rebranded itself as Woodbridge Aquarium & Wildlife, but don’t be fooled—the name has changed, but the appalling conditions and animal cruelty remain exactly the same. What’s advertised as a fun, educational, and family-friendly experience is actually a heartbreaking and revolting scene of neglect, deception, and exploitation. This facility should be shut down for good.

The animals are clearly suffering. Many appear starved, distressed, and crammed into overcrowded, filthy enclosures, with no access to fresh air, proper veterinary care, or clean water. The water in nearly every tank is murky, and the entire place smells awful—thick with humidity, urine, and rot. It’s suffocating inside—like walking into a 100-degree nightmare that you immediately want to escape.

The false advertising is outrageous. Online, this place is portrayed as vibrant and engaging, but in person, it’s a depressing, rundown, chaotic mess. The so-called “interactive experiences” are poorly managed or entirely non-functional. When we asked how to feed the chickens, we were literally told: “With the food.” That sums up the level of professionalism and care here. Staff are either nowhere to be found or completely overwhelmed, leaving guests confused and animals unattended.

Safety is a major issue. Small children are allowed to interact with animals like iguanas without supervision. Some tanks are so low to the ground that toddlers could easily fall in. Aside from the bird cage and Bengal cat encounter, there is zero staff oversight, making this a disaster waiting to happen—for both guests and animals.

Even trying to participate in an experience was a complete failure. We attempted to feed the Bengal cats, only to be told the exhibit was “closed by law” and might reopen in an hour. After complaining at the front desk about the lack of posted times or information, we were suddenly told it was actually open, and we could go back in—completely contradicting what we’d just been told. The disorganization is mind-blowing.

But here’s what makes this all worse: SeaQuest was officially shut down by the state and rebranded as Woodbridge Aquarium & Wildlife in early 2025. This name change was nothing more than a cover-up attempt. • The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection revoked SeaQuest’s permits due to inhumane conditions, resulting in the confiscation of at least 25 exotic animals. • Nearly 100 animals have died in this facility since 2019—from sloths and chameleons to pigs and turtles—many due to disease, dehydration, and neglect. • The facility and its new operators have received public condemnation and even a “Cold-Hearted Company” award from PETA, which has actively urged families to stay far away. • Despite the crackdown, many animals remain behind, still subjected to unsafe and unsanitary environments—with no meaningful changes in management, care, or ethics.

It’s enraging that this business continues to operate at all. Families are being misled. Animals are suffering. The staff are untrained, the facility is unsafe, and the entire operation is held together by deception.

I demand accountability: • Investigate this facility immediately. • Shut it down permanently. • Ensure all remaining animals are relocated to sanctuaries or facilities that meet basic welfare standards. • Hold the owners and operators responsible for false advertising, public endangerment, and prolonged animal cruelty.

This place is not an aquarium—it’s a hellhole disguised as entertainment. Do not give them your money. Help shut this place down—and help rescue the animals still...

As someone with experience across a range of animal care facilities with standards, this place is absolutely abhorrent. They are 100% buying fake 5 star reviews. We should have done more research, as @/banseaquestwoodbridge is easily discoverable on tiktok, and there was news about the CEO stepping down just a few weeks ago due to investigative pressure. As he should.

Majority of the animals in this windowless concrete building are living in squalor. All terrestrial exhibits are bare concrete floors, save for a sprinkling of hay for Some animals. No animal has live plants, just plastic. Many enclosures are full of gnats and other pests, visibly flying and crawling all over the food bowls. Most animals are lethargic, with the exception of the fish and sharks zooming around in the massively overcrowded tanks to escape each other. The Moray eels were swimming after the sharks with intent to bite them, with a noticeable lack of hiding places. One fish was seen with a fresh, open bite wound.

As we visited near closing time, we saw the ducks being put away in the questionably decorated exhibit (cheap party city Chinese new year decorations?), which included the removal of their protective foot coverings. The 2 young male staff members were frantically using a pole with a rubbermaid tupperware lid attached to the end to chase the ducks around the pond in order to catch them. This was especially poor animal handling behavior - typically, animals are supposed to be trained, or at least Habituated, to medically necessary practices. This appeared to be stressful for the ducks.

The types of mammals here are not meant to be kept indoors, even if they were kept in better conditions. The pig and goat enclosures are devoid of enrichment and far too small. The otter enclosure is pathetic, like most others - nothing mimicking a natural habitat, as well as dead fish all over the bare concrete floor.

There is no sound dampening to handle the noise from the large concrete parakeet aviary directly adjacent to the sloth and flying squirrels. There is no way this is not stressful for them.

The touch pool is very poorly designed - it is so low to the ground that someone could just fall into it, or an animal could attempt to crawl out.

Older pictures of this place are visible on trip advisor showing Silkie Chickens. They have likely all died (along with many, many other animals) and have been replaced with Polish chickens, while their signage was not changed. After looking through more photos, we came to the conclusion that any appropriately-crowded enclosure has only become that way because most of the animals that were kept in it have died.

There is little to no reason for the racially questionable "Egyptian" decor in the Bengal cat exhibit - especially the human-sized statue of Anubis, The Canine. These cats are not even from Egypt, they were created in California. While they have genetics from the Egyptian Mau breed, all of their "unique" qualities that seem to make them worthy of an exhibit here are from the wild Asian leopard cat. So, the decor is irrelevant and unnecessary, if not outright harmful and/or misleading.

There are many ways in which animal husbandry can be appropriately done in indoor environments, even being attached to a mall. However, this corporation severely misses the mark. I understand that the working world of animal care can be tough and unforgiving, but there is no justifiable reason for this exploitative suffering to fall on to the...

My experience at the Aquarium with both my daughters (12 & 9yrs old) and my brother was amazing! Waiting in line was less than three minutes, we even got to take some pictures with these cool statues they have while waiting. There’s even a gift shop with many varieties of toys and thing's. Signing the waiver is so simple and fast which I appreciate. The employees are very helpful and attentive, I appreciate them so much! Not only did we have fun interacting with the animals but we got to feed some and see families swimming with the fish! That was so cool! They give you a variety of different foods in a cup which is thoughtful and not only did the animals make it a great experience but the workers there are terrific! Although I can’t remember the name of the sweet employee that attended us with her cute pink hair, I will definitely explain how she was helpful and so patient as we signed our waivers and explained things we weren’t even aware of due to excitement. She took her time in explaining what’s included in the package we chose and gave us the time slot for feeding the animals which was awesome! We also got to meet awesome Garrett which introduced us to the coolest and most handsome iguana named Chester, named after Cheetos lol. He explained so much info about iguanas and is a very knowledgeable gentleman and has so much enthusiasm when speaking and is so funny. I’d definitely choose him to tell us everything there is to know about animals. He made us laugh so much and answered all our questions and made it a fantastic experience and day for us! We then met wonderful Christine which fed sharks with us! She is absolutely amazing and such a beautiful soul. My daughter even hugged her and complimented her on her work ethics and how comfortable she made her feel and what a great experience Christine made it for us which was so sweet to see. She’s so funny and knowledgeable and took her time explaining everything to us and I love that she brought enough food to pass out when feeding the sharks which made the experience even more cool because it didn’t go by fast which my children and brother loved, and I as well. We took our time and laughed and gained insight on sharks with Christine and even got splashed on by the sharks, just a little lol which was the best part and funny too. There’s so many great animals there! A pig, goats, cats, chickens, the list goes on and there’s a photo booth with so many options and effects to choose from! We took some pictures with silly effects and what a great way to go back and remember that day! The photos are definitely worth it and only for $8. Allie was another great employee we got to meet as we were heading out, she recommended a place for us to eat inside the mall and showed concern after hearing we were hungry and looking for a place. It was so sweet and thoughtful and very attentive. I truly appreciate everyone we encountered, the employees are very friendly and make it a wonderful experience that even my youngest with disabilities enjoyed herself and had no problems being there. She had a blast! That said, we will definitely be coming back soon! I just want to thank them again and definitely recommend this place and shout out to the boss for hiring them! Great job...