Staff Editorial: Animal Slavery: PETA versus SeaWorld

PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is giving a whole new meaning to the concept of animal rights.

The organization is filing a lawsuit against SeaWorld in defense of five orcas—killer whales--that the organization claims are being held in captivity, in violation of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished the practice of slavery.

PETA officials argue that the whales, that were kidnapped from their families and natural habits and forced to do the entertainment bidding of SeaWorld trainers, are victims of slavery.

According to PETA's website, SeaWorld's actions were in violation of the 13th Amendment which "prohibits the condition [emphasis not added] of slavery without reference to ‘person' or any particular class of victim."

Despite supposed situational similarities and PETA's assertion that the whales' predicament clearly places them in the category of slave, SeaWorld dismisses the accusation that it is enslaving the whales or is treating them badly in any way. PETA acknowledges that cases of this nature are unprecedented in the field of animal rights.

From vegans and vegetarians to extreme dog lovers, debates over the rights of animals vary in scope and intensity. Whether or not one subscribes to the notion that animals are entitled to exactly the same rights and care as human beings, most people agree that animals should not be intentionally, excessively, or unnecessarily harmed or mistreated. To that end, many animal experts and legislators have enacted policies to prevent extinction and the excessive exploitation of animal products, like fur.

Establishing limits on the extent to which humans can benefit from the necessary resources that animals provide is one battle, but regulating the exhibition of animals for human entertainment is another. Even if one concedes similarities between the treatment of the whales and the treatment of slaves, the domestication of animals occurs in many places and in many forms.

A killer whale is not exactly Kunta Kinte. Is PETA going to sue individual pet owners who train their animals to obey their orders in much the same way that SeaWorld trainers might train the whales?

If PETA is defining slavery in terms of removal of an animal from its natural environment and training it to behave in ways accordant with the wishes of its owner, there are many other animals besides whales that are victims of slavery. Is PETA going to file a lawsuit against all of the zoos in the world? What about farms? Circuses?

In light of its passionate defense of the constitutional rights of killer whales, PETA should know that the 13th Amendment has always had its contradictions, and it does allow for the practice of slavery in one instance—for the punishment of a crime. Maybe the SeaWorld officials who captured the animals took the "killer" in killer whale seriously. If so, they were simply following the Constitution.

Our View: Animals deserve to be treated humanely, but equating exhibits displaying wild life to slavery is extreme.