Written by Jennifer OConnor
In what will now stand as the case that future generations will look back on as the one that broke legal ground for animals, captive orcas were represented in a U.S. federal court in a lawsuit that PETA filed against SeaWorld seeking to establish that five wild-caught orcas deserved protection under the Constitution's 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller was the first judge in U.S. history to listen to arguments and give careful consideration to the idea that the definition of slavery does not exclude any species. Yesterday, Judge Miller ruled that the 13th Amendment doesn't apply to nonhumans.
There is no question that SeaWorld enslaves animals even though the judge in this case didn't see the 13th Amendment as the remedy to that. Women, children, and racial and ethnic minorities were once denied fundamental constitutional rights that are now self-evident, and that day will certainly come for the orcas and all the other animals enslaved for human amusement.
This historic first case for the orcas' right to be free under the 13th Amendment is one more step toward the inevitable day when all animals will be free from enslavement for human entertainment. Judge Miller's opinion does not change the fact that the orcas who once lived naturally, wild and free, are today kept as slaves by SeaWorld. PETA will continue to pursue every available avenue to fight for these animals.
As Harvard law professor and constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe described the unprecedented lawsuit, "Some may even be offended by the implied comparison of human slavery with the experience of non-humans who are captured in the wild and kept in conditions that are unnatural for the species. But that reaction would overlook both what we have in common with some other species and the many respects in which the Constitution is an essentially aspirational document. Its bold language and broadly expressed principles offer themselves to each generation as we struggle to define our national values in an ever-changing world. Ours is a vibrant Constitution, more than capable of warding off past evils while also speaking to circumstances in which we come to recognize that familiar principles apply in ways previously unforeseen. So it seems to me no abuse of the Constitution to invoke it on behalf of non-human animals cruelly confined for purposes of involuntary servitude."
Caption: Tilikum, pictured above, has a collapsed dorsal fin, which only occurs in captivity.milan.bores | cc by 2.0
You can make a difference right now by refusing to buy a ticket to SeaWorld and by talking to parents and grandparents about the miserable existence that animals who live and die in barren, cramped cement tanks endure.
Written by PETA
On the final day of SeaWorld's challenge to its citations imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), questions abounded about the qualifications of Jeff Andrews, a 15-year SeaWorld veteran who now works at the San Diego Zoo and whom SeaWorld offered as a witness. Andrews was presented as an expert in animal behavior and training and in working safely with large animals. He testified that he primarily learned on the job at SeaWorld and last worked with orcas there in 2001.
When questioned about what he could offer that would differ from previous SeaWorld employees' testimony, Andrews responded only his "position in the park" and his post-SeaWorld experience. He stated that he stays informed of what happens at SeaWorld parks and is called if there is an injury at any of them. He also admitted that he relied entirely on Chuck Tompkins, SeaWorld's corporate curator for zoological operations, for the data and statistics on which he based his opinion.
After a day of direct and cross examination, during which Andrews repeatedly made "expert" statements that were based on others' opinions, his credibility was shredded. Even SeaWorld did not offer Andrews' report, which he had prepared for SeaWorld for the purpose of this hearing and which provided written proof of his flawed methodologies, into evidence.
When questioned about aggressive incidents documented in SeaWorld's monthly recaps, Andrews refused to acknowledge that splitting off routine and thrashing toward a trainer could indicate aggression in Tilikum, laughing at OSHA's attorney for suggesting the possibility and calling the assertion an "uneducated assessment of behavior." Despite using the term "aggressive" repeatedly in his direct testimony and his report, when asked how he defines the term, Andrews responded, "I don't have an operating definition of aggression off the top of my head."
Andrews dismissed the vast majority of behaviors listed as "aggressive tendencies" on Tilikum's behavioral profile, including "mouthing the stage, vocalizations, tightening body posture, banging gates" and "a deep fast swim." Andrews insisted that only lunging toward a trainer could potentially be considered aggressive.
Another notable thing revealed today was an admission by SeaWorld's vice president of veterinary services, Dr. Chris Dold, that about 14 of 20 orcas at SeaWorld have had their teeth drilled after breaking them from biting hard surfaces such as the concrete pools, themselves, and other orcas.
The parties will be submitting final briefs in the coming months, after which the judge will make his decision. But one thing became clear during nine days of testimony: Despite all the deaths, injuries, and other serious incidents that have occurred, SeaWorld employees continue to defend the practice of keeping orcas in tanks and forcing them to perform tricks for the public.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Returning to the stand on day eight of the hearings regarding SeaWorld's challenge to OSHA rulings against SeaWorld, the company's "curator of animal training," Kelly Flaherty Clark, became visibly angered when government attorney John Black implied that SeaWorld makes substantive changes to its protocols only for PR purposes—rather than to protect trainer safety.
Black pointed out the differences between the responses to the incidents involving Dawn Brancheau and John Sillick and the incident involving Alexis Martinez. The incidents involving Brancheau and Sillick, who was crushed in 1987 when an orca landed on him while the trainer was in the water, both occurred with the public present and resulted in significant media attention and some changes to trainer-orca interactions. In contrast, Martinez's death occurred during a training session in Tenerife, Spain, at the hideous Loro Parque marine park, out of public view, and garnered little media attention on an island where tourism is king and Loro Parque is the big revenue generator. After Martinez's death, trainers at SeaWorld Orlando were pulled from the water for only a single day, and no changes to any training or safety procedures were made.
Entered into evidence were SeaWorld's "monthly recaps," including 60 pages of documents about Tilikum that included the heading "Aggressive Incidents" and detailed an incident in which a trainer lost control of Tilikum during a show. Tilikum started swimming in circles, and when called back, he "thrashed" toward the trainer—which Flaherty Clark demonstrated by showing her teeth. Flaherty Clark dismissed the recaps as "irrelevant." To whom?
Flaherty Clark was also questioned about a 1997 incident at the now-defunct SeaWorld Ohio in which trainer Kristine Van Oss was pulled into the water by her sweatshirt. The resulting incident report stated: "We hope that you plan to eventually desensitize all killer whales to work with you regardless of what you're wearing. You can't guarantee hair, apparel, or objects will never be within reach, so it's better to address the problem." Tilikum pulled Dawn Brancheau into the tank by her ponytail.
Flaherty Clark confirmed that until Dawn Brancheau's death, every time trainers were pulled from the water following a serious incident, they were allowed back in. And every single time, another incident or injury occurred.
When asked how water work is educational for audiences, a claim that SeaWorld makes because an educational purpose is required for the company to retain its federal permits to hold orcas, Flaherty Clark could not provide any information. No surprise.
Stay tuned.
After its request to dismiss the OSHA case against it was rejected, SeaWorld called its first witness, Jenny Mairot, the supervisor of animal training at the Orlando park. Mairot started at SeaWorld a year after graduating from high school and has never received formal training as an animal behaviorist or trainer outside the organization. Despite being Dawn Brancheau's partner at the time of her death, Mairot testified cheerfully, laughing loudly and often during her testimony.
Mairot described Tilikum—the orca who killed Brancheau (and two others)—as "the most congenial, easygoing, and predictable" of the three adult male orcas she has worked with. She called Brancheau's death "tragic, but it was not unpredictable" and said that SeaWorld employees "were well aware of what would happen if someone fell into the pool with [Tilikum]."
OSHA's attorney stressed that SeaWorld turned a blind eye to safety and allowed its trainers to be in harm's way just for show by "writing incident reports, sending them around, and patting themselves on the back."
Mairot blamed trainer Alexis Martinez's death on "layers of mistakes" and said that when she watches video footage of the incident, "Keto [the whale who killed Martinez] wasn't even that bad." She stressed that the trainers at Loro Parque are "raw" and that the orcas are all young males. Mairot failed to note that Loro Parque staffers were trained by SeaWorld trainers and that the orcas were all provided for and placed in the facility by SeaWorld. SeaWorld Orlando trainers stopped water work for only a single day after Martinez's death, and no substantive changes were made to their protocols.
The next witness, Kelly Flaherty Clark, is the curator of animal training at SeaWorld Orlando. Flaherty Clark agreed with Mairot that the trainers were at fault for Martinez's death. Flaherty Clark lamented the fact that non-SeaWorld staffers were allowed to review incident reports since they don't understand "our craft." When asked who incident reports were meant for, Flaherty-Clark replied, "Certainly not a lawyer or the courtroom."
More to come.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
When the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed the Southern Resident killer whale population as endangered, affording them protection from being harmed or harassed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the agency left out one lone orca.
Lolita was captured from the Southern Resident population off the coast of Washington in 1970 as a calf and has been held captive in a tiny cement tank—forced to perform at the Miami Seaquarium—ever since. NMFS cited these captures as the likely reason for the population's decline, yet it still denied protection to Lolita, the only surviving victim.
Together with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, local residents, and a former Seaquarium employee, PETA filed a lawsuit against NMFS in Lolita's behalf alleging that her exclusion from the ESA was unlawful. If we are successful, the Miami Seaquarium will be prohibited from harming or harassing her—and PETA could then try for precedent-setting improvements for Lolita, such as a larger tank, no more forced performances, or even release to a sea pen in her native waters.
While we go after marine-mammal abusers in the courtroom, you can go after them at the bank by refusing to fund this cruelty with your admission fee. Please also click here to send a polite e-mail to Eric C. Schwaab, assistant administrator for fisheries, asking that the agency ensure that Lolita is given the protection that she is rightfully due under the Endangered Species Act.
After a fall recess, SeaWorld is back in court to resume its fight against a citation imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which found that the theme park exposed its employees to serious risks after trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by the orca Tilikum last year.
SeaWorld repeatedly tried to prevent the day's witnesses from testifying. The first witness, Ken Peters, is the assistant curator of animal training at SeaWorld San Diego. During a 1999 show, Peters was attacked by an orca named Kasatka. After the orca tried to grab Peters' feet and hands, SeaWorld described the near tragedy as an "unfortunate incident" and an "excellent learning tool." Peters acknowledged a "calculated risk of dying tomorrow"—which almost came true in 2006, when Kasatka, forcibly separated from her baby, grabbed Peters' foot and repeatedly dragged him underwater for extended periods. All water work with this angry orca stopped because of the "intensity" of the incident.
The next witness, Mike Scarpuzzi, is vice president of zoological operations. Scarpuzzi gave short and evasive answers to the government attorney's questions and repeatedly stared at the ceiling before responding to even the simplest yes-or-no questions. He was ultimately designated as a hostile witness by the court.
Scarpuzzi oversaw orca training at Spain's Loro Parque theme park when trainer Alexis Martinez was killed after being rammed and dragged underwater by an orca named Keto—just two months before Dawn Brancheau's death. Although SeaWorld attempted to distance itself from this park and attack its credibility, a SeaWorld trainer, Brian Rokeach, was stationed at Loro Parque to supervise animal training, and all decisions about animal care and training were made in conjunction with the three SeaWorld parks and SeaWorld's corporate headquarters.
Although he was the supervisor, Scarpuzzi testified that he didn't know (or ask about) the details surrounding Martinez's death other than being told by Rokeach that he "didn't make it." Telling Rokeach to "take care of it," Scarpuzzi took no other action or offered any measure of support until he arrived on site the next day. He said SeaWorld had concluded that "a combination of relatively commonplace and minor occurrences" caused the trainer's death. Water work with orcas was suspended for less than a week after Martinez's death, and no additional protocols or safety measures were adopted.
Rokeach closed out the day's proceedings by admitting that SeaWorld's emergency procedures generally are not successful when the killer whales are in an agitated state.
In the first case of its kind, PETA, three marine-mammal experts, and two former orca trainers are filing a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare that five wild-caught orcas forced to perform at SeaWorld are being held as slaves in violation of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The filing—the first ever seeking to apply the 13th Amendment to nonhuman animals—names the five orcas as plaintiffs and also seeks their release to their natural habitats or seaside sanctuaries.
The suit is based on the plain text of the 13th Amendment, which prohibits the condition of slavery without reference to "person" or any particular class of victim. "Slavery is slavery, and it does not depend on the species of the slave any more than it depends on gender, race, or religion," says general counsel to PETA, Jeffrey Kerr.
The five wild-captured orca plaintiffs are Tilikum and Katina (both confined at SeaWorld Orlando) and Kasatka, Corky, and Ulises (all three confined at SeaWorld San Diego).
"All five of these orcas were violently seized from the ocean and taken from their families as babies. They are denied freedom and everything else that is natural and important to them while kept in small concrete tanks and reduced to performing stupid tricks," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "The 13th Amendment prohibits slavery, and these orcas are, by definition, slaves."
In the aerial view of SeaWorld, one can see how little room orcas have. Inside the circle is Tilikum, whose nose and tail almost touch the ends of his tank. Image © 2011 Google
Orcas are intelligent animals who, in the wild, work cooperatively, form complex relationships, communicate using distinct dialects, and swim up to 100 miles every day. At SeaWorld, they are forced to swim in circles in small, barren concrete tanks. Deprived of the opportunity to make conscious choices and to practice their cultural vocal, social, and foraging traditions, they are compelled to perform meaningless tricks for a reward of dead fish.
Our understanding of animals grows every day. Animals are no longer regarded as "things" to dominate, but as breathing, feeling beings with families, dialects, intellect, and emotions. Just as we look back with shame at a time when we enslaved other humans and viewed some people as property less deserving of protection and consideration, we will look back on our treatment of these animals with shame. The 13th Amendment exists to abolish slavery in all its forms—and this lawsuit is the next step.
The orcas are represented in the suit by what the law refers to as their "next friends": PETA, Ric O'Barry (a former orca and dolphin trainer and the star of the Academy Award–winning documentary The Cove), renowned marine biologist and orca expert Dr. Ingrid N. Visser, Orca Network founder Howard Garrett, and former SeaWorld trainers Samantha Berg and Carol Ray.
The groundbreaking suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego.
Please help animals imprisoned by SeaWorld today. Click here to write to The Blackstone Group—the company that owns SeaWorld—and ask that it immediately set in place a firm and rapid plan to release the animals to sanctuaries that can provide them with an appropriate and more natural environment.
In an appalling display of its mercenary mindset, SeaWorld is fighting a federal charge that it exposed its employees to risks "causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm," which was brought after trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by the orca Tilikum last year. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) cited SeaWorld for a willful violation of federal law and fined the company the maximum amount allowed. PETA supporters were outside OSHA's Florida office to stand up for the animals who live and die in cramped tanks at SeaWorld.
Photo courtesy of Carla Wilson
Even though Tilikum had killed twice before—and despite a history of trainer deaths, hospitalizations, and injuries—SeaWorld's attorney argued that Brancheau's death was merely an "unfortunate event" and that its training process made interactions with killer whales "safe." Yet, SeaWorld's curator of animal training acknowledged that these procedures couldn't have saved Brancheau after she was dragged into the water by Tilikum.
Government attorneys stated that killer whales are "large, powerful and non-domesticated animals" with "the potential to cause serious physical harm or death to people who get near them." They argued that "SeaWorld's killer whale training program doesn't change the essential facts that harm or death to people is possible. Their program doesn't eliminate what SeaWorld itself recognizes as a calculated risk."
The hearing is expected to last all week. Stay tuned for updates.
Oooh, don't miss this: The deadly consequences of the marine mammal entertainment industry are on screen in the new film A Fall From Freedom, produced by San Francisco–based EarthViews Productions. In hardball interviews with marine scientists, whistleblowing former trainers, and theme park PR mouths, the scope and scale of the suffering of all the dolphins and whales who have died in parks like SeaWorld is made clear.
The movie comes on the heels of Outside magazine reporter Tim Zimmerman's scathing investigative report about this insanely cruel industry, called "Blood in the Water." Describing the behavior of orcas in an "aqua park" in Spain, the piece notes that the whales used "their teeth to peel away strips of [the pool's coating] from the pool walls like bored kids picking at loose paint." Notes of a trainer monitoring one female orca's "frequent unhappy vocalizations" describes her as "back to feeling insecure when separated, alone, both in shows & in sessions." This piece makes riveting reading.
If you're hitting the road this summer, heed the plea from PETA pal Bob Barker to drive right on by marine theme parks and let SeaWorld know that you won't be buying a ticket.
Independence Day is a day to celebrate America's freedoms, so why would the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) swear in new citizens at SeaWorld—a place that exemplifies the lack of freedom? PETA has fired off a letter to the director of CIS pointing out the irony of holding this joyous occasion where orcas and dolphins are kept in holding tanks for life.
Confined and forced to spend their days swimming in continuous circles in barren concrete tanks and deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, animals at SeaWorld become depressed, listless, and prone to illness.
Please ask CIS to adopt a policy that prohibits holding agency events at SeaWorld or at any other venue that causes animals to suffer or that has a history of flagrant violations of federal law.
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.