Recently, the Austin Aquarium got slapped with a rare warning from the United States Department of Agriculture for unsupervised interactions between animals and humans that went awry. The incidents themselves took place a couple of years ago, around the time that Austin’s Animal Advisory Commission formed a working group to examine aquariums. And, while the commission recommended that Austin City Council pass an ordinance limiting interactions between wild animals and the public at for-profit aquariums and zoos, the measure was never adopted. Host Nikki DaVaughn is joined by Rebecca Smudzinski, associate director of captive wildlife for the PETA Foundation, to get into the Austin Aquarium’s history, the latest warning, and why PETA thinks the wild animal recommendation should be revisited.

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 12th episode:

Cozy Earth - Use code COZYAUSTIN for 40% off best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more.
Visit Port Aransas
LBJ Presidential Library
Zach Theatre
The Texas Tribune Festival

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Attacking Lemurs, Unsupervised Otters, and Other Issues at the Austin Aquarium