PETA Lawsuit Claiming Sea World Whales are “Slaves” is Thrown Out

By Jeremy Rine, In House Counsel, Associate Director of State Services

Last November, I blogged about a lawsuit filed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against Sea World. In the suit, PETA claimed that whales kept by Sea World were “slaves” and as such, Sea World was violating the 13^th Amendment of the Constitution – the amendment that abolished slavery.  PETA wanted the court to rule that the 13^th Amendment applied to both people and animals.

I am happy to report that the lawsuit was recently thrown out. Judge Jeffery T. Miller of the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California ruled what all of us already knew to be true – that “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.”

In other words, PETA’s attempt to have animals elevated to the same legal status as people didn’t work on Judge Miller.

My question is this: how far will groups like PETA go to push their radical agendas?

From this case, it looks like there are no limits.  They’re obviously willing to try something as offensive as manipulating the 13^th Amendment, a defining moment for human rights and our country, to force their beliefs on the rest of us.

Sadly, we all know that this loss won’t stop them from filing more lawsuits and continuing to pressure lawmakers to pass animal rights legislation.  That’s why USSA will continue to fight to protect your right to hunt, fish, and trap.