Are SeaWorld whales illegal slaves?

A California federal court is to decide for the first time in US history whether amusement park animals are protected by the same constitutional rights as humans.

The issue arises from a lawsuit filed by rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in a San Diego court on behalf of five orcas named Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka and Ulises.

The whales perform water acrobatics at the SeaWorld amusement parks in San Diego and in Orlando, Florida. PETA argues that continuing the whales' “employment” at SeaWorld violates the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits slavery.

The suit, filed in October 2011, asked that the court declare that the orcas are “held in slavery and/or involuntary servitude by defendants in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

“It's a new frontier in civil rights,” said Jeff Kerr, PETA general counsel, who described the hearing as a “historic day.” “Slavery does not depend on the species of the slave any more than it depends on race, gender or ethnicity,” he argued. “Coercion, degradation and subjugation characterise slavery and these orcas have endured all three.” The complaint demands that the court “appoint a legal guardian to effectuate plaintiffs' transfer from defendants' facilities to a suitable habitat in accordance with each plaintiff's individual needs and best interests.”

SeaWorld's motion to dismiss argues that, the amendment “only protects people, not animals, from slavery and involuntary servitude.”