PETA lawsuit alleges SeaWorld enslaves killer whales

[Musky]

A lawsuit filed Wednesday by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other "next friends" of five SeaWorld killer whales takes that novel legal approach.

The 20-page complaint asks the U.S. District Court in Southern California to declare that the five whales -- Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises -- are being held in slavery or involuntary servitude in violation of the 13th Amendment.

A PETA statement said the lawsuit is the first of its kind in contending that constitutional protections against slavery are not limited to humans.

"Plaintiffs were forcibly taken from their families and natural habitats, are held captive at SeaWorld San Diego and SeaWorld Orlando, denied everything that is natural to them, subjected to artificial insemination or sperm collection to breed performers for defendants' shows, and forced to perform, all for defendants' profit," the lawsuit says, arguing that those conditions amount to enslavement and/or forced servitude.

A SeaWorld statement called the lawsuit a baseless publicity stunt by PETA, which is known for provocative advertisements and public demonstrations on behalf of animal rights.

At the heart of the lawsuit is the question of whether a non-human entity can sue for a violation of constitutional rights.

Full article: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/26/justice/killer-whale-lawsuit/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

[trottigy]

At the heart of the lawsuit is the question of whether a non-human entity can sue for a violation of constitutional rights.

I think they should be allowed to sue - as long as they can testify in court

Whales, STAND UP AND BE HEARD!!!!!

[Musky]

At the heart of the lawsuit is the question of whether a non-human entity can sue for a violation of constitutional rights.

I think they should be allowed to sue - as long as they can testify in court

Whales, STAND UP AND BE HEARD!!!!!

They would probably make more sense then the Lawyers!

[Brother_Bliss]

A SeaWorld statement called the lawsuit a baseless publicity stunt by PETA, which is known for provocative advertisements and public demonstrations on behalf of animal rights.

And SeaWorld is correct.

Listen, as Jehovah's people, we love animals more than the rest - and while in principle I stand by everything that PETA claims to stand for, I really think they have a tendency to be an extremist organization.

I went to see Ringling Brothers circus last Saturday in Cleveland, and these PETA people were picketing all around Quicken Loans Arena about the unfair treatment of Elephants and Tigers. Ummm, they perform shows and eat lots of snacks, not get turned into coats and purses - go away PETA!

[retroHelen]

Only Jehovah can help animals now. Sad fact is that many animals have hardly any natural habitat left and even where they do have some wild land to live in, they are poached or poisoned by oil ,gold or other mining industries.

The late Gerald Durrell used to get protesters outside his 'zoo' in Jersey, but the 'Zoo' only cares for scarce animals whose very existance is threatened in the wild to try to preserve the species and runs International conservation projects from there.

I did agree with some PETA facts about cruel needless animal trapping for fur coats for wealthy people and dress designers, but I didn't like some of their protesters throwing bags of blood (I presume from abbatoirs) on people wearing them.

I used to get a bit disheartened at people coming into our shop and ranting loudly at me because they didn't like me selling 19th Century bone chess sets or jewellery because they thought they were ivory and wanted to give a public lecture in the shop in front of other customers. Elephants mainly became scarce in the 20th Century. Earlier white hunters were bad shooting them just for trophies, but were never as bad as dictator Idi Amin of Uganda. He had herds in the hundreds driven towards him and his henchmen and they slaughtered them by the hundreds until they were nearly wiped out across Central Africa. Also there's still the Asian market for carved ivory which is illegal elsewhere that burgeoned in the 20th Century due to tourism.

[Hammerhead]

I thought peta was people eating tasty animals: