Vegetarian Star

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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The Cove has inspired a dolphin broker to enter a new profession.

Chris Porter, who’s in the business of capturing dolphins in Solomon Island and selling them to aquariums, says both the Oscar winning film and the recent death of a trainer by one of the animals at SeaWorld prompted his decision to release his last 17 dolphins.

Porter, who’s been nicknamed as “Darth Vador” by animal rights activists, is questioning the educational value of captive animals in marine parks like SeaWorld.

“Are we really educating and providing the best representation of wild animals in an aquarium?” Porter told the National Post, adding that killer whales often become frustrated in unnatural environments and lash out in response.

Mr. Porter will start releasing the dolphins next month, and the creatures will be tracked with devices to follow up on their statuses.

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Pamela Anderson was recently on Larry King Live when Larry King asked Pamela what she thought about the SeaWorld tragedy several weeks ago where a trainer was killed by an animal.

King: Do you think there should be SeaWorlds?

Anderson: I don’t think there should be SeaWorlds. Of course not. They should not be in captivity at all.

A viewer from Facebook told King to ask Pamela what she eats to stay looking so great and Pamela got into her discussion on what a vegetarian and vegan is.

She also talked about her new celebrity signature vegan milkshake at Millions of Milkshakes in Santa Monica, California.

The SeaWorld conversation begins around minute 2:20.

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The SeaWorld tragedy from February that resulted in a trainer being killed by an orca whale still has many forming opinions over whether parks that keep marine animals in captivity are worth the risks to the animals and humans.

Eli Roth has written a letter to the CEO of The Blackstone Group, the company that owns SeaWorld, that questions the educational value of the exhibits, and asks for a release of the animals into a sanctuary.

“I can assure you that there are many humane alternatives available to introduce the public to orcas without having to hold them in captivity for a lifetime against their will. CGI technology, animatronics, and other state-of-the-art virtual reality exhibits could be used in place of the current live-animal shows to provide park visitors with an exciting, educational experience. In fact, showing visitors a more realistic version of what life is like for real marine mammals rather than displaying the captive animals’ unnatural and repetitive behavior patterns which are linked to their oppressive environment is actually more educational, with no risk to human life.”

Eli’s entire letter can be read at RadarOnline.

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Jack Hanna On Larry King Live

Larry King hosted Jack Hanna and PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk on Larry King Live, where the two got into a heated debate over whether keeping whales like the one that killed SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, is safe for humans and animals.

Newkirk said the conditions aren’t ideal for the whales and that they are “swimming in their own diluted urine” and she hopes the company is sued.

Hanna said the benefits of learning about whales outweigh the risks and compared the trainers to astronaunts.

“Larry, didn’t our astronauts go up in the space shuttle and we lost them when they came back? It was a terrible thing. They went back up in space, didn’t they? We want to learn from space and help mankind. That’s what SeaWorld does. These are dangerous animals. This young lady sacrificed her life and would be sitting here today saying she’d do it again for the great work she’s done and SeaWorld has done to educate tens of millions of people over the last years.”

Do you agree with Hanna?

Or is there a better way to educate the public than through marine parks like SeaWorld?

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Watch CBS News Videos Online

Jack Hanna appeared on the Early Show where he discussed the recent tragedy of the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau by a killer whale.

Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez questioned SeaWorld’s judgement for keeping Tilikum, given the fact the whale had been implicated in the death of other trainers.

Hanna defended both SeaWorld and the practice of keeping whales in captivity.

“I take my hat off to SeaWorld to take a killer whale that someone said we should euthanize, (and) bring it to SeaWorld,” Hanna said.

“We do everything we can (to put) the safety of our animals and visitors first. The SeaWorld in-vitro planted, they can now take sperm and eggs and have a baby killer whale. Let’s say 20, 30 years from now, there’s 200 killer whales left in the wild. Let me tell you where we’re going to go: We’re going to go to SeaWorld and see what to to save this magnificent creature. That’s how valuable it is for what we’re doing with research. I hear all these other people commenting with killer whales. Give me a break. Seaworld are the ones that know more about killer whales, and the millions of dollars they spend this rescuing whales is unbelievable. And we put them back out in the wild. So no one hears about this.”

What’s your take on whales being kept in marine parks like SeaWorld?

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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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