The plaintiff asked the court to rule that the terms of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution applied to Tilikum, and thus that the orca's confinement amounted to involuntary servitude or slavery.
He held her at the bottom of the pool, ripping part of her scalp from her skull, breaking her jaw, fracturing vertebrae, and killing her.
[4] Tilikum was also one of three orcas that killed trainer Keltie Byrne in 1991, and in 1999 the dead body of Daniel P. Dukes was found draped over his back.
[1][3] Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.PETA said that the whales "were born free and lived in their natural environment until they were captured and torn from their families."
[1] SeaWorld called the action "baseless" and a "publicity stunt", and defended the treatment of orcas in its parks, saying "no facility sets higher standards in husbandry, veterinary care and enrichment".