A juvenile Patagonian cavy was euthanized after staff at the Houston Interactive Aquarium and Animal Preserve failed to notice the animal had been attacked by other cavies, leaving it with bite wounds that became infected and infested with fly larvae. The case is one of 17 U.S. Department of Agriculture violations documented at the Humble attraction across two inspections in 2026, part of a pattern of federal citations stretching back to the facility's 2021 opening.
Maggots, Flooding and a Distressed Ostrich
The cavy's wounds were discovered on June 4, according to inspectors, and staff took the animal to its attending veterinarian the same day, but the injuries proved too severe and the cavy was euthanized to end its suffering. As reported by Chron, the facility was cited for two critical violations in June tied to the incident, and the USDA concluded that staff failed to adequately observe animals and promptly report health problems to the facility's veterinarian. Federal inspectors conducted that focused inspection on June 29, issuing the citations under Animal Welfare Act Section 2.40(b)(2), which mandates exhibitors maintain adequate veterinary care programs, according to a Facebook post detailing the inspection report.
The same set of findings described an armadillo left swimming in about two feet of water after contractors left a water line running and flooded most of its enclosure. Inspectors reported the armadillo later appeared lethargic, unresponsive, cold and purple with abnormal breathing, and it was rushed to a veterinarian after swimming for an extended period. During the April inspection that produced 15 separate citations, inspectors also found an ostrich lying down, panting and appearing distressed; the bird was later injured while contractors attempted to corral her, though she received veterinary care that same afternoon, per inspectors.
Sloth Encounters and Sanitation Failures
Inspectors also raised concerns about public encounters with sloths after finding one animal near an open enclosure door without an attendant immediately present. Carrie Covino, chief operating officer of the Houston Interactive Aquarium and Animal Preserve, said a staff member had supervised the sloth encounter but was not in uniform. USDA inspectors noted that public sloth encounters posed potential bite and injury risks to both animals and visitors, and the facility has since changed its encounter protocol to require a uniformed attendant and to allow only one animal at a time during public interactions.
April's inspection also turned up rodent feces near food-storage containers and bedding, deteriorating spring mix intended for primates, and fruit flies described as too numerous to count on cantaloupe and other produce. Inspectors documented bugs and mold beneath stored food, and found feces covering roughly half of the giraffe and petting-zoo yards. A camel was observed repeatedly kicking and nipping at his legs as flies landed on him, and complaint videos showed excessive flies around the facility's otters.
A History of Repeat Violations Since 2021
Covino acknowledged failures in the facility's food-handling areas, telling Chron that is a real failure and we do not dispute it. The facility has since added end-of-shift produce checks, expanded pest-control coverage and cleaning, increased yard cleaning, and regularly regrades the warthog exhibit — where inspectors had found standing water and heavy mud across about half the enclosure — to improve drainage. Three additional April findings involved animal inventory records, a contingency plan and enrichment records, all stemming from staff being unable to locate and present existing documentation during the inspection.
The facility says it corrected every April violation by its assigned deadline except one it disputes: a finding over vaccination requirements for otters and kinkajous. The Houston Interactive Aquarium and Animal Preserve has asked USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to amend that finding, saying its veterinary care plan does not require annual vaccinations. Covino said the facility does not have a grievance with USDA more broadly, and noted the June inspection did not again cite the sanitation, feeding, records, contingency-planning, pest-control or enrichment issues flagged in April. Reflecting on the cavy's death, Covino said, this is not an outcome I can be at peace with.
Part of a Broader Pattern
The 17 violations logged in 2026 build on a documented history of federal scrutiny at the Humble facility, which opened in 2021 at 5440 North Sam Houston Parkway East and allows guests to touch and feed some animals as part of its business model, according to Wikipedia. The facility has received 39 citations for alleged federal animal-welfare violations since 2022, including two critical citations that year, and it received an official USDA warning in June 2022 after inspectors documented six violations, among them a lemur left in an unheated outdoor enclosure in 33-degree weather, according to a Facebook post from PETA. A September 2023 inspection separately cited the facility for permitting unmonitored public contact with a camel and a giraffe.
In 2024, 40 common parakeets and an eclectus parrot escaped through a tear in enclosure mesh and were never recovered before freezing winter temperatures arrived, a loss inspectors flagged as particularly dangerous since the Australian-native birds were ill-equipped to survive the cold. Under the Animal Welfare Act, repeated or critical non-compliance findings can lead to civil monetary penalties, administrative hearings, or license suspension and revocation, though the seed reporting does not indicate whether USDA has moved toward any of those steps in this case.
Ties to a Troubled Family of Interactive Aquariums
The facility's development is also linked to Ammon Covino, who was sentenced in federal court in December 2013 to a year and a day in prison for conspiracy to illegally harvest and traffic spotted eagle rays and lemon sharks from the Florida Keys, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. SeaQuest Holdings LLC, an interactive mall aquarium chain founded by Vince Covino, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2024 and shuttered or transferred its remaining locations nationwide by early 2025 amid widespread citations and financial decline, according to CBS News. It places the Houston attraction within a wider pattern of regulatory trouble tied to the same family's ventures in interactive, touch-and-feed animal exhibits across the country.
Federal oversight of the facility is also shaped by what the Animal Welfare Act does not cover. Aquatic invertebrates, fish, amphibians and cold-blooded reptiles are statutory exemptions under the law, which limits USDA inspection authority largely to warm-blooded mammals and birds — a boundary previously explained in Hoodline's coverage of animal rules at another Texas aquarium. Federal regulations also require licensed exhibitors to maintain written contingency plans for animal shelter, evacuation and emergency care during severe weather or operational disruptions, a requirement the Houston facility was previously cited for failing to meet, according to USDA-APHIS. Whether USDA will pursue civil monetary penalties or further administrative action against the Houston Interactive Aquarium given its repeat critical violations remains an open question. Chron reported it reached out to the USDA for additional comment.
