SeaWorld lawsuit alleges orcas are drugged and confined in 'chemical tubs'

[Surya Gayatri]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/10/seaworld-florida-killer-whales-lawsuit

Lawsuit is second in three weeks to attack marine park for abusive treatment of killer whales and demands reimbursement for all visitors in the last four years.


The federal class action lawsuit also says SeaWorld’s performing killer whales have been deprived of food, forced to breed and are confined in chlorine baths. Photograph: Magnolia Pictures/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

A new class action lawsuit has been filed against SeaWorld in Florida accusing the marine park of keeping its performing killer whales drugged and suffering from sunburn in tanks that are the equivalent of “chemical bathtubs”, leading to early death for the intelligent mammals.

South Carolina grandmother Joyce Kuhl is suing the SeaWorld center in Orlando for her money back following her visit in 2013 – and for ticket money also to be reimbursed to millions of other visitors – via a federal class action lawsuit that could cost the park billions of dollars, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

It is the second time SeaWorld has been sued in less than three weeks, after a similar class action lawsuit was filed in California last month alleging the company is misleading the public by claiming its captive killer whales, or orcas, are happy and thriving.

The California lawsuit targets all three SeaWorld locations, in San Diego, California; San Antonio, Texas and Orlando, Florida, while Kuhl’s action focuses solely on the Florida park.