{"id":775060,"date":"2024-03-07T07:31:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T12:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=775060"},"modified":"2024-03-07T08:11:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T13:11:39","slug":"animal-rights-sued-or-taking-and-sharing-video-of-orca-lolitas-living-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=775060","title":{"rendered":"Animal rights activist sued by Seaquarium for taking and sharing drone video of Lolita\u2019s living conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Animal rights activist Phil Demers has spent almost two years organizing protests and keeping-up the drumbeat to free Miami Seaquarium's animals and shut the facility down. Now he\u2019s locked in a legal battle with the Seaquarium, which sued him for illegally operating a drone to snap footage of its animals, sharing the video on social media and posting: 'WOW. Her (Lolita) suffering is immeasurable. She\u2019s just wasting away in the blistering sun. We gotta get her out of there!'.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

KATE BRIQUELET:<\/strong> In June 2022, former animal trainer Phil Demers shared aerial footage above the Miami Seaquarium, a Florida tourist attraction where a lonely killer whale was forced to live in a tiny tank and perform for audiences for half a century.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe flew a helicopter above the Miami SeaQuarium to witness their lone orca Lolita\u2019s living conditions, since her pool is completely cut off to the public,\u201d Demers posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. \u201cWOW. Her suffering is immeasurable. She\u2019s just wasting away in the blistering sun. We gotta get her out of there!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This was just one video clip Demers shared of Lolita, then the oldest orca in captivity and also known by her indigenous name Tokitae or \u201cToki.\u201d She died in August before her planned release into ocean waters.<\/em><\/p>\n

Demers\u2014a brash and unapologetic Canadian\u2014has spent almost two years organizing protests and keeping up the drumbeat to free the park\u2019s animals and shut the facility down, with the help of his 41,000 followers on X and 125,000 on Instagram.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s locked in a legal battle with the Seaquarium, which sued him last May for trespass, private nuisance and defamation, accusing him of illegally operating a drone to snap footage of its animals and staff.<\/em><\/p>\n

The feud has gotten so ugly, court exhibits reveal, that the attraction\u2019s head of security discussed collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which he claimed was monitoring Demers\u2019 activities…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis lawsuit is not about drones. It\u2019s not about helicopters. It\u2019s about Phil\u2019s reach, the impact of Phil\u2019s speech that is making the Seaquarium look bad,\u201d said Carraway, a staff attorney at the University of Denver-based Animal Activist Legal Defense Project (AALDP).<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not making the Seaquarium look bad. The Seaquarium is making itself look bad, but Phil is just exposing it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

According to the Seaquarium\u2019s complaint in federal court, which was initially filed as a state suit, Demers illegally flew an unmanned aerial vehicle over the property or instructed others to do so and \u201ccaused both visual and auditory disturbances to several customers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, several of the photos and videos taken were of animal exhibits which were not open to the public and where employees present maintained an expectation of privacy while conducting their work,\u201d the lawsuit added…<\/em><\/p>\n

The litigation is firing up as the Seaquarium navigates a sea of bad press. Last week, the park\u2019s chief veterinarian resigned, and in February, newly released U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) records revealed inspectors found poor water quality at the facility, a dolphin with a two-inch nail lodged in his throat, another with a broken bolt in her mouth, and a sea lion whose untreated cataracts caused such pain she began refusing food.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Seaquarium also lost its accreditation from American Humane\u2019s animal welfare certification program, and Miami-Dade County\u2019s Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is demanding the termination of the Virginia Key attraction\u2019s lease on a public waterfront. The venue is also reportedly about $88,000 behind on rent. SOURCE…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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