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    Judge to decide future of whale civil rights case

    By JULIE WATSON | Associated Press – Mon, Feb 6, 2012

    SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine whether animals enjoy the same constitutional protection against slavery as human beings.

    Sea World asked U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller to dismiss the case filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Miller did not make an immediate ruling.

    PETA named five orcas that were captured in the wild as plaintiffs and claims they are treated like slaves when forced to perform daily at Sea World parks in San Diego and Orlando, Fla.

    PETA lawyer Jeffrey Kerr said it was a historic day.

    "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," he said.

    He acknowledged the case is an uphill battle but said he hopes the judge will allow it to proceed.

    Sea World attorney Theodore Shaw countered that the lawsuit ignores common sense and almost 125 years of case law involving the 13th Amendment. The issue is not about whether the animals have been subjected to abuse, but whether the 13th Amendment applies only to human beings, he said.

    The court would be outside its jurisdiction if it ruled in PETA's favor and granted constitutional rights to orcas, Shaw said, warning that such a ruling would have profound implications.

    "We're talking about hell unleashed," he said.

    If constitutional rights were granted, the ruling could be applied to all animals, including those kept at zoos and aquariums along with dogs that sniff for bombs and drugs for the U.S. government.

    "With all due respect, the court does not have the authority to even consider this question," Shaw said. "Neither orcas nor any other animal were included in the 'We the people' ... when the Constitution was adopted."

    Kerr replied that African-Americans and women achieved protection of their rights in cases argued before the courts after the Constitution was adopted.

     

    17 comments

    • Scott
      Scott  •  Genesee, Idaho  •  3 mths ago
      Only within the 9th Circus (not a typo). WAKE-UP these cases cost taxpayers to try. If the judiciary has time to spend of a rridiculous case like this, they need to be trimmed back so there is less time to waste. How many more jobs is the 9th willing to destroy.
    • chris
      chris  •  3 mths ago
      Your friggen kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      • AlQ
        AlQ 3 mths ago
        Unfortunately Chris They're not. lol- I want to live on an island.
    • Doug
      Doug  •  Spring, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      Please would someone out there firer all of these idiot judges once and for all ,for this alone would save the tax payers millions .
    • LarryD
      LarryD  •  Albuquerque, New Mexico  •  3 mths ago
      PETA would be laughed out of any other US District Court in the country, but the fruit loops of the 9th District Court might rule for PETA. The bright side is that the Supreme Court has over ruled more of the 9th's ruleings and any other district.
    • Don
      Don  •  Kingman, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      Somebody's cheese has slid off his cracker.
    • tony sansevero
      tony sansevero  •  3 mths ago
      Should an animal have the right to not live bound to servitude?, where do we draw the line on the idea of 'slavery as unjust' ? Is an animal able to communicate it's choice? I do know when I see some of these animals I see a wild and majestic spirit shackled.
      • GutttaPercha
        GutttaPercha 3 mths ago
        Tony, you are a dork. It does not matter how you feel about it, animals are not humans & therefore are considered property. Come back to reality.
    • Mary
      Mary  •  Rutland, Vermont  •  3 mths ago
      This does seem to be extreme but so is granting human rights to corporations.
    • Manuel
      Manuel  •  Ontario, California  •  3 mths ago
      why not also file murder charges against the owner of slaughter houses and ranchers,piggery operators and poultry operators as accessory to the crime of premeditated murder.
    • Dennis
      Dennis  •  3 mths ago
      Wasting tax dollars, wasting court time. What about the ethical treatment of taxpayers.
    • AlQ
      AlQ  •  Altus, Oklahoma  •  3 mths ago
      So am I to understand that police dogs , mounted police horses, seeing eye dogs are all in this gig ? They're all being "forced" to serve.
    • darrell m
      darrell m  •  3 mths ago
      "Kerr replied that African-Americans and women achieved protection of their rights in cases argued before the courts after the Constitution was adopted." very true but they are also people not animals.

      the sad and pathetic thing is there are truely people in the world that believe animals have rights.
    • Pat
      Pat  •  Las Vegas, Nevada  •  3 mths ago
      Another waste of taxpayers money. The sad thing is the idiot FEDERAL judge will probably side with them. By the way has PETA consulted with the whales to find out how they feel about it?
    • mike c
      mike c  •  Bangkok, Thailand  •  3 mths ago
      Women, and unlanded workers at one time were considered property, so be careful how you defend your argument, don't want to look like an #$%$ Heeeee Hawaaaa.
    • GutttaPercha
      GutttaPercha  •  3 mths ago
      Total #$%$ Animals are property. They have no rights, period. Animals are property to be owned, utilized & disposed of as humans see fit. I don't care how you "feel" about it. Reality is what matters, not whiny emotions.However I like animals.......They taste good!
    • richard
      richard  •  Austin, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      #$%$
    • Smitty
      Smitty  •  Bellevue, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      Hey PETA morons, should my pet rat have such rights as well? Is there no end to your legalistic lunacy?
    • Barb Patrice
      Barb Patrice  •  Irvine, California  •  3 mths ago
      I suppose next we'll it will be slavery of produce.. Hey Judge they buried these corn kernels in the ground, poured water and chemically altered feces onto it and forced it to grow and procreate, then took all its progeny and fed it to other people.. Get some danged common sense people...
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