Judge throws out Whales 'Slavery' suit
A US District Judge has thrown out a case brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activists on behalf of five whales at SeaWorld they allege are enslaved. The suit demanded the immediate release of five whales (Tilikum, Katina, Kasatka, Ulises and Corky) kept in SeaWorld parks in Orlando, Florida and San Diego, California. PETA hoped that the whales would be released into a coastal sanctuary, conceding that releasing the whales into open ocean would not be consistent with their welfare.
However, US District Judge Jeffrey Miller took less than an hour to dismiss the legal grounds on which the suit had been brought and throw out the case. His Honour Judge Miller rejected PETA's argument that the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, mandated the release of the whales.
"The only reasonable interpretation of the 13th amendment's plain language is that it applies to persons and not to non-persons such as orcas," says the text of the Judge's ruling. "Both historic and contemporary sources reveal that the term 'slavery' and 'involuntary servitude' refer only to persons."
SeaWorld spokesman David Koontz welcomed the dismissal, arguing that the speed with which the court came to its decision underlined "the absurdity of PETA's baseless lawsuit." Speaking to Agence France-Presse, he said that "SeaWorld remains the standard for zoological stewardship of marine animals and we reject any challenge to the conditions and quality of care for these remarkable animals."
PETA spokesman David Perle, however, maintained that the group would continue its activities until "the inevitable day when all animals will be free from enslavement for human amusement. 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."
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
