Miami’s Mokai Lounge allowed to reopen following horse-related closure

There’s been another twist in the tale of the Mokai Lounge, the Miami club which allowed a live horse to enter its premises.

The incident occurred earlier this month, and following a joint investigation between Miami Police and Miami Beach Code Enforcement, the nightclub had its license revoked by the City Manager of Miami Beach, Jimmy Morales, who said: “I was disgusted and offended that any legitimate business person would think this was an appropriate action to take.”

Now it has been announced that Mokai Lounge will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday this week, following an agreement has been reached between the club and city officials.

The venue admitted to five violations related to the stunt, including animal cruelty, and will be made to pay a fine of over $12,000 in the next 10 days, as well as making a $10,000 donation horse rescue organisation, reports the Miami Herald.

Mokai Lounge has also agreed to allow no more animals in the club, save for service animals, and accepted that if a similar violation occurs, the city has the right to permanently shut the beach-side spot down.

In a statement, Jimmy Morales said: “This agreed order essentially creates a permanent revocation penalty for this business should they ever use an animal in that establishment again.

“Combined with the expensive lesson of the fines and revenue losses, we believe this arrangement represents a very strong incentive to comply, which sends a message out to anyone else that would ever try this type of stunt in the future.”

CBS Miami reported it is thought that the horse incident is not the first time Mokai Lounge has allowed animals inside, describing social media photos that allegedly show a camel being paraded inside, and a different horse with the name of the club painted onto its coat.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter