Unexpected crushing defeat for PETA

[monovillage]

PETA filed a lawsuit in October and named 5 killer whales.....oh, oh sorry...named 5 whales as plaintiffs. They claimed the wild-caught orcas are now slaves. Slaves to the evil capitalist Seaworld corporation who are exploiting them for greedy profits and forcing them to perform for the public.

A federal judge in San Diego dismissed an unprecedented lawsuit seeking to grant constitutional protection against slavery to a group of orcas that perform at SeaWorld parks, saying the 13th amendment applies only to humans.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller stopped the case from proceeding two days after he became the first judge in U.S. history to listen to arguments in court over the possibility of granting constitutional rights for members of an animal species.

“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 wrote in his ruling.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed the lawsuit in October and named five whales as plaintiffs. PETA says the wild-captured orcas are enslaved by SeaWorld because they are held in concrete tanks against their will and forced to perform in shows at its parks in San Diego and Orlando, Fla.

SeaWorld called the lawsuit baseless and a waste of the court’s time and money.

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/02/0...-lawsuit-claiming-seaworld-whales-are-slaves/

As you can tell i'm horrified by what this activist judge has done to hold down the Constitutional rights of fish.... oh so sorry, mammals.

 

[Doppel]

Unexpected to who? This would have paved way to remove seeing eye dogs, cattle, etc.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I cannot resist

 

[jackschmittusa]

I'm inclined to at least believe that they are sentient beings. They seem to have self awareness, culture, and language.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I'm inclined to at least believe that they are sentient beings. They seem to have self awareness, culture, and language.

Culture?

Anyway, my dog would be a better example of the positive qualities of humanity than most people.

 

[monovillage]

Unexpected to who? This would have paved way to remove seeing eye dogs, cattle, etc.

I think it was unexpected to PETA since they filed a lawsuit. You'd just have to pay seeing eye dogs minimum wage.

 

[monovillage]

I cannot resist

You should be ashamed ! Was that manatee properly represented by SAG?

 

[Theb]

Unexpected?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Unexpected?

 

[monovillage]

Unexpected?

Do you think PETA's lawyers actually filed a lawsuit they thought would lose?

 

[woolfe9999]

Do you think PETA's lawyers actually filed a lawsuit they thought would lose?

Yes, they most definitely knew they would lose. PETA is trying to call attention to the issue by getting into the press.

 

[monovillage]

Yes, they most definitely knew they would lose. PETA is trying to call attention to the issue by getting into the press.

They think it's a good thing to file frivolous lawsuits about slavery? Seems like bad PR to me.

 

[davmat787]

Culture?

Anyway, my dog would be a better example of the positive qualities of humanity than most people.

Not that I think this suit had any merit, but I have heard the word 'culture' used when differentiating various pods of Orcas. For example, there is one pod that has a unique trait of its culture so to speak. They know exactly how to kill great white sharks, it has been captured on video once off the Farallon Islands. An Orca will ram the shark to stun it, then grab the shark in its jaws to turn it upside down, which induces tonic immobility. At that point, it simply takes 10-15 minutes to drown the shark, and a few minutes afterwards to enjoy some shark pate.

Marine biologists say this was a learned behavior, which this pod passes on to youngsters for self defense, and is unique to this pod.

So, is this an aspect of what culture? All I know is that they specifically used this as an aspect of the pod when describing its 'culture'. I would think the word culture is used very loosely when discussing animals.

 

[WelshBloke]

Judge should have let it go to trial.

"Defence calls the plaintiff to the stand."

WWheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....RRRRRRRrrooooooooooo..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooo.

 

[monovillage]

Judge should have let it go to trial.

"Defence calls the plaintiff to the stand."

WWheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....RRRRRRRrrooooooooooo..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooo.

Lol, make the PETA lawyers sit next to the killer whales, maybe the whales will get bored and playful.

 

[notposting]

Judge should have let it go to trial.

"Defence calls the plaintiff to the stand."

WWheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....RRRRRRRrrooooooooooo..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooo.

Okay, that I laughed at.

 

[Baked]

One day, the animals will get their justice. I'm waiting for the animal version of Emancipation Proclamation.

Judge should have let it go to trial.

"Defence calls the plaintiff to the stand."

WWheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....RRRRRRRrrooooooooooo..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooo.

I just fell off my chair. That's hilarious.

 

[Nemesis 1]

All I can see here is whale racism

 

[DrPizza]

They think it's a good thing to file frivolous lawsuits about slavery? Seems like bad PR to me.

Think of the people they recruit - nutcases. This is good PR if you're trying to attract more nutcases.

 

[Double Trouble]

Think of the people they recruit - nutcases. This is good PR if you're trying to attract more nutcases.

Exactly. For groups like PETA, it's very much like the Westborough crazies: there is no such thing as bad publicity. They'll take any PR, positive or negative, it helps them attract more crazies to the cause.

I wish peta was forced to pay for the legal costs of defending this frivolous suit.

 

[Ausm]

 

[Howard]

I suppose you, too, did not expect the Spanish Inquisition.

 

[zsdersw]

 

[WelshBloke]

I suppose you, too, did not expect the Spanish Inquisition.

No one ever does.

 

[Genx87]

Not that I think this suit had any merit, but I have heard the word 'culture' used when differentiating various pods of Orcas. For example, there is one pod that has a unique trait of its culture so to speak. They know exactly how to kill great white sharks, it has been captured on video once off the Farallon Islands. An Orca will ram the shark to stun it, then grab the shark in its jaws to turn it upside down, which induces tonic immobility. At that point, it simply takes 10-15 minutes to drown the shark, and a few minutes afterwards to enjoy some shark pate.

Marine biologists say this was a learned behavior, which this pod passes on to youngsters for self defense, and is unique to this pod.

So, is this an aspect of what culture? All I know is that they specifically used this as an aspect of the pod when describing its 'culture'. I would think the word culture is used very loosely when discussing animals.

I'd think an orca whale ramming a great white would kill it. A female orca is about double the weight of a typical great white shark and males are upto 5 times their weight. These two predators are simply not in the same class. It could be that video is them playing with the shark as they kill it. They do that to other whales as well.

Edit:Believe I have seen the video. My understanding of watching that video was the female had a calf with her and defended it from the great white by going after it. The video I saw didnt really show the killing only the orca swiming by the boat after the great white and 15 mins later surfaces with it in her mouth. Then the baby ate the liver and they let the carcass fall to the bottom.