"Much learning does not teach
understanding." --
Herakleitos, Fragment 16
Herakleitos, Fragment 16
Killer whales denied anti-slavery protection
By Lauren Steussy, NBCSanDiego.com, Feb.
9, 2012
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to
give killer whales at SeaWorld constitutional rights.
The
animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sued
SeaWorld Inc. in San Diego on Oct. 6, 2011, for allegedly violating
the anti-slavery 13th Amendment rights of orca whales.
Monday,
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller heard the case. Miller was the first judge to
ever hear arguments over animals' constitutional rights.
Miller
did not immediately dismiss the case. Instead, he took it under submission
Monday after about an hour of questioning.
"As 'slavery'
and 'involuntary servitude' are uniquely human activities, as those terms have
been historically and contemporaneously applied, there is simply no basis to
construe the Thirteenth Amendment as applying to non-humans," Miller
stated in his ruling.
SeaWorld
filed a motion to have case dismissed even before the hearing.
"Today’s
decision does not change the fact that the orcas who once lived naturally wild and
free are today kept as slaves by SeaWorld," a PETA spokesperson stated
Wednesday after the ruling. "PETA will regroup and determine how to
continue to work for the legal protection they deserve."
In the
courthouse Monday, an attorney representing SeaWorld said that PETA's arguments
had "no place in a federal courtroom." He added that, regardless of
whether animals were being abused, this was not a matter of constitutionality.
If PETA were truly concerned about the well-being of the whales, they would
file an Animal Welfare Act lawsuit, he said.
"Orcas
... are not human beings. And I need not remind the court that
African-Americans are," the attorney said, drawing on the intention
of the 13th Amendment to abolish the slavery of humans.
The
official complaint filed in October in the U.S. District Court for Southern
California lists five SeaWorld orcas as collective plaintiffs in
the case. Three of those killer whales live in the San Diego SeaWorld park. The
other two live in the Orlando location.
"They
were ripped from their homes and families with whom they would have spent their
entire lives," said Kerr. "They're denied everything natural to them.
They're
confined in the equivalent of concrete bathtubs."
PETA
alleges that the two SeaWorld locations restrained and kept the whales in
“constant involuntary physical confinement,” with no means to escape. The
complaint also accuses SeaWorld of depriving the killer whales of “their
ability to live in a manner of their choosing” and for “intentionally
subjugating” the killer whales’ “wills, desires, and/or natural drives and
needs of [SeaWorld’s] own will and whims.”
In
response, SeaWorld said the killer whales have no constitutional standing, and
the lawsuit is a waste of the court's time.
"PETA has
once again showed that it prefers publicity stunts to the hard work of caring
for, rescuing and helping animals," SeaWorld's spokesperson said in
October.
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NOTE:
Memo to Judge Jeffrey Miller:
Rather than go to Sea World, people would be far better enlightened and enriched if they were to go on a whale-watching cruise from Montauk or Nantucket.
ReplyDeleteOf course they would. We've had the pleasure of seeing whales in Cabo San Lucas and finally last summer in Kennebunkport. It was unforgettable. I remember years ago in Los Cabos being fairly far out on the water seeing a seal just skipping along living its life. He/she reminded me of a NYC sidewalk pedestrian, probably late for a meeting, lost in thought. I understand the judge's decision from a legal point of view and think he was anxious not to be perceived as a bad and unthoughtful person. But on a basic common sense level, he is mistaken here. They're slaves all right -- nothing but slaves -- and their incarceration at Sea World is scandalous. Curtis
ReplyDeleteYes, it is so sad. I have never liked seeing any animals in captivity, but the circus animals in the water or on land are the most depressing.
ReplyDeleteNin, hi. I posted a reply but it seemed not to "take." No, this is dreadful and, although the judge is a little too old to be part of My Generation, he's younger than Mick Jagger. I think My Generation gives itself far too much credit for having heart and soul. I think that for the most part My Generation (Democrats, Republicans, Independents) is heartless, soulless and cruel. But I'm having a reasonably good day. You? Curtis
ReplyDeletelove the pics
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you VERY much. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Curtis
ReplyDelete