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Five killer whales got their day in court Monday.
People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, the vocal group behind those eye-popping anti-fur
ads, filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld for capturing and "enslaving"
orcas named as plaintiffs in the case.
At a Monday hearing in San
Diego, PETA Attorney Jeffrey Kerr argued that the big mammals should be
protected under the 13th Amendment.
"Tilikum, Katina, Kasatka,
Ulises and Corky have been captive and subjected to treatment that we
feel is slavery," Kerr told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller, who is
now weighing SeaWorld's request to toss the case, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Miller noted that there is no legal precedent for protecting animals under the 13th Amendment.
SeaWorld argued the consequences of setting such a
precedent could be difficult to contain and may lead to cases brought
against police departments and the military for their use of service
dogs.
"We're talking about hell unleashed," The San Francisco Chronicle quoted SeaWorld
attorney Theodore Shaw as saying. "Neither orcas nor any other animal
were included in the 'We the people' ... when the Constitution was
adopted."
Judge Miller said he would review all the information before deciding whether to dismiss or proceed with the case.
PETA officials heralded the hour-long hearing as a victory in and of itself.
"This is truly a historic
day for the law and for the animals," spokesman David Perle said. Kerr
added that "for the first time in our nation's history, a federal court
heard arguments as to whether living, breathing, feeling beings have
rights and can be enslaved simply because they happen to not have been
born human."
SeaWorld called the lawsuit a "publicity stunt" without merit.
