PETA Sues to End Killer Whale Slavery


Image: Irina Silvestrova/Shutterstock

Intelligent beings captured and forced to live in tiny space, then made to perform daily to entertain the masses. Sounds like slavery? PETA thinks so and they're suing ... on behalf of killer whales against SeaWorld:

It is reportedly the first time a US court has heard legal arguments over whether animals should enjoy the same constitutional protections as humans.

SeaWorld's legal team said the case was a waste of time and resources.

The marine park's lawyer, Theodore Shaw, told the court in San Diego: "Neither orcas nor any other animal were included in the 'We the people'... when the Constitution was adopted."

He said that if the case were successful, it could have implications not just on how other marine parks or zoos operate, but even on the police use of sniffer dogs to detect bombs and drugs.

Peta says the killer whales are treated like slaves for being forced to live in tanks and perform daily at the SeaWorld parks in California and Florida.

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I think we will all agree that Edison torturing and killing elephants by electrocution was a dick move of massive proportions worthy of bringing an organisation with the name "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" into being. But is _this_ really how they feel they best can influence the human relationship with our fellow beasts? They surely have a few screws loose.
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I agree with anonymous. PETA is making themselves look ridiculous, which takes away credibility from anyone else who wants to protect animals' interests. It also is disrespectful to people who went through real battles to end slavery.

That being said, I do agree that whales don't belong in captivity. They are large creatures that are known to travel hundreds (even thousands) of miles in a year. They are also intelligent animals that most likely know that they are in captivity. While there are cases of injured whales being rescued, and not being healthy enough to be rehabilitated to ocean life, the majority of these animals belong in their natural habitat.
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I think someone needs to inform SeaWorld's attorney, Theodore Shaw, that when the Constitution was adopted neither Blacks, nor American Indians, nor women, nor men without property were included in "We the People..."
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Logical conclusions stemming from PETA's position:

1) Seeing-eye dogs should be illegal.

2) If animals are protected by the Constitution, then when a cougar kills a deer, the cougar should get some hard time for the murder (perhaps behind bars in a zoo?).

3) If someone wants to build a new house, sorry, ants and a lot of other creatures already inhabit that land. They must willingly relocate.

4) If someone gets head lice, well, learn to live with them. The human noggin is their natural habitat.
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And once again, PeTA gets a ton of free publicity for their cause. The people who have said "a dog is a chicken is a boy" can now add "is a whale." And to the list of those protected under the Constitution. I think whales should be included, and given the right to vote (but I would not give them the right to keep and bear arms, reserving that for humans and our most trusted allies, the dogs).
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