On Monday, a federal magistrate judge heard argument on whether to dismiss a relatively recent lawsuit brought against SeaWorld by
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (“PETA”) that raises an unprecedented
and patently frivolous claim – even
for an organization known for taking some pretty unreasonable positions. The lawsuit is captioned
Tilikum v. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. and it is
pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
before Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr..
Now, I suspect many of you who read my blog (and thus, presumably have
an interest in the amusement industry) will immediately recognize the named
plaintiff despite the fact that he is not, in fact, a human being. Tilikum is an orca – the very orca that
killed SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau last year after a performance at SeaWorld
in Orlando. Tilikum and four other
orcas, speaking (not surprisingly) through actual human beings (a procedure
that I won’t get into in this article), “claim” that they are being held
against their will and subjected to
slavery and
involuntary servitude
in violation of the 13
th Amendment to the United States. The basis of such a claim? The 13
th Amendment never
specifically says that it only applies to “people” so, naturally, it must also
apply to orcas. The breadth of the
Plaintiffs’ argument is as utterly astounding as it is facially foolhardy and
frivolous. This is the very definition
of a lawsuit brought for no other purpose than to bring publicity to the
plaintiff and to harass SeaWorld.
