Judge: Whales Are 'Non-Persons,' So Seaworld's 'Enslavement' OK [View all]

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Published on Thursday, February 9, 2012 by Common Dreams
Judge: Whales Are 'Non-Persons,' So Seaworld's 'Enslavement' OK

- Common Dreams staff


A US district judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) against SeaWorld yesterday, saying that the suit -- which aimed to free five orca whales held by the amusement park company -- had no standing because the 13th amendment of the US consitution does not protect the right of 'non-persons.'

“Tilikum, Katina, Kasatka, Ulises and Corky have been captive and subjected to treatment that we feel is slavery,” said PETA attorney Jeffrey Kerr prior to the ruling. PETA had wanted the orcas released into a coastal sanctuary, acknowledging they probably wouldn’t survive in the open ocean.

But the ruling did not fall in favor of the whales, or PETA.

"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," US district judge Jeffrey Miller wrote in his ruling. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/09-2