Vegetarian Star

SeaWorld is putting the killer whale that caused trainer Dawn Brancheau to drown last year back into shows for the first time since the incident.

Although the marine park has made numerous safety upgrades, officials concerned for the safety of the trainers have warned against mixing trainers and whales in the water.

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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for manslaughter charges to be filed against the Orlando, Florida marine park SeaWorld, in relation to several deaths, including the recent one by trainer Dawn Brancheau by Tilikum the killer whale.

PETA’s General Counsel Jeffrey Kerr sent a 12-page letter to Florida State Attorney Lawson Lamar asking him to consider charges for both the park and its executives, saying they are “culpably negligent” for continuing to allow trainers to interact with animals despite previous events and a government warning three years ago.

There have been six publicized attacks on trainers since 2002, and an investigation by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health after an orca attacked its trainer in 2006 concluded it was “only a matter of time” before someone was killed.

“SeaWorld has shown reckless disregard for the lives of its trainers by paying them to be in close contact with massive, powerful, wild animal who can kill them in a flash,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement.

“Corporations must be held accountable when their greed causes suffering and loss of life.”

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After trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed while swimming with killer whale Tillikum, SeaWorld officials still have no plans to euthanize the animal, which has been linked to two other deaths since 1991.

SeaWorld have banned trainers from swimming with Tillikum, but he is still used in shows where trainers give him commands outside of the tank.

“Euthanasia is different in a veterinary setting, but we have never euthanized an animal for being aggressive,” SeaWorld spokeswoman Leigh Andrus said.

“The plan is to review our protocols and continue to care for Tillikum with the same high level of care. Trainers will interact with the animal to provide care, but this was never an animal which trainers swam with.”

A statement made by Brancheau’s family said she, “would not want anything done to that whale.”

Animal rights activists that oppose captivity of these animals are calling for a release of Tillikum into a coastal sanctuary, a more controlled environment that the wild.

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