People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is suing Sea World on behalf of five orca whales, alleging that Sea World's treatment of the whales violates the 13th Amendment's prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude.

“Slavery is slavery, and it does not depend on the species of the slave any more than it depends on gender, race, or religion,” PETA claims in defense of its position that the 13th Amendment, while prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, does not specify that only humans can be victims.  The lawsuit seeks to have the orcas released to the custody of a legal guardian who would find a "suitable habitat" for them.

"By any definition, these orcas are slaves -- kidnapped from their homes, kept confined, denied everything that's natural to them and forced to perform tricks for SeaWorld's profit," said Jeff Kerr, PETA's General Counsel. "The males have their sperm collected, the females are artificially inseminated and forced to bear young which are sometimes shipped away."

SeaWorld said any effort to extend the 13th Amendment's protections beyond humans "is baseless and in many ways offensive."

—Sources: Heritage.org and Foxnews.com