Judge Says: Whales Are Not Persons, Can Be Slaves
A judge's dismissal of PETA's lawsuit to free orcas from captivity means that the black and white beauties will remain behind the bars of SeaWorld's glass cages. (Photo: Andrew Winning / Reuters)
Admit it.
When you saw this headline in October—“Cetacean Slavery: PETA Sues SeaWorld for Violating Killer Whales’ 13th Amendment Rights”—you kinda’ knew the lawsuit would never make its way through the federal court system.
In the court of law, this issue seems to be settled—for now, anyway. But what about in the court of public opinion? Do you believe animal slavery and human slavery are the same thing?
A judge yesterday confirmed your suspicion, dismissing the case because “the only reasonable interpretation of the Thirteenth Amendment’s plain language is that it applies to persons, and not to non-persons such as orcas.”
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
PETA’s lawsuit was based on the fact that the above sentence does not contain the word “human.” Specifically, the animal rights organization was arguing that it does not state that only humans can be victims.
“By any definition, these orcas are slaves—kidnapped from their homes, kept confined, denied everything that's natural to them and forced to perform tricks for SeaWorld's profit,” said PETA’s legal counsel John Kerr, in October. “The males have their sperm collected, the females are artificially inseminated and forced to bear young which are sometimes shipped away.”
Even before this week’s decision, legal experts generally predicted that the case would struggle to keep its head above water for the simple fact that animals are legally considered to be personal property.
“No one’s established that animals are legal persons,” said Rebecca Huss, to The Huffington Post. The Valparaiso Law Professor continued: “It doesn't mean we couldn't ... it's just something that we as a society have not decided to do yet. If we can establish corporations as persons, why can't we establish whales as persons?”
In the court of law, this issue seems to be settled—for now, anyway. But what about in the court of public opinion? Do you believe animal slavery and human slavery are the same thing?
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