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We, The Orcas …

Whales seek Constitutional rights in SeaWorld lawsuit … wait, what?

The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) is suing the SeaWorld water parks (in both Orland and San Diego) of enslaving five killer whales and violating their 13th Amendment right. A U.S. judge will hear the case, in which the five killer whales are the plaintiffs. SeaWorld’s lawyer, Theodore Shaw, does not seem too worried and had this to say: “Neither orcas nor any other animal were included in the ‘We the people’ … when the Constitution was adopted.” This isn’t stopping Peta though. Jeffery Kerr, the lawyer representing the five whales, stated 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.” The ramifications of the case may be far wider than simply the ethical treatment of animals in zoos, and may extend to using dogs to sniff for bombs and help the disabled. In related news, four 8-year old boys in Youngstown, Ohio, are facing murder charges after burning ants with a magnifying glass.

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