Boobie Tassels For Buddha

All Rise For The Honorable Judge Ito!


This court is now in session for the State of Florida vs Tilikum aka Tilly the killer whale...

Murmurs rippled through the courtroom as those words took America across a new threshold. For the first time in our history, this great nation is holding an animal legally accountable for harms caused to a human being. Florida vs Tilly is a landmark case--a point where our history will be divided into a before and after.

It has been an emotional 3 years for many since Tilly first murdered his 40 year old trainer in February of 2010. Those close to the woman have wanted to see justice served while the rest of the nation has been divided by intense, heated debate over this tragic story...and for good reason.

Tilikum the killer whale is an orca who has resided at Seaworld Orlando since 1992. Tilly, as he is more affectionately known, participates regularly in the park's Shamu shows, has sired many of the other resident orcas, and is well liked among many of the trainers there. He seems to have it made...but he also has a dark side. Tilly has a violent record dating back to 1991, the year before he became a part of Seaworld Orlando. At that time he was in Victoria, Canada and along with a couple other whales, drowned his trainer. This was the first time an orca killed a trainer and Tilly was part of it. Then again in 1999, a body of a man was found in Tilly's tank. Apparently, the man had snuck in after hours and either fallen or had been pulled into the tank by Tilly. Either way, his body was beaten and scratched by the whale. Extreme consequences for a small case of trespassing... And again in 2010 with this case...pulling in his trainer by her braid and dragging her around the tank.She ultimate died from several traumatic injuries and drowning. In the days after her death, experts emerged who painted \Tilly as a cold, caculating killer who had shown his thirst for murder throughout his life and would continue killing. His blood thirst had not stopped with fish and had in fact, moved on to humans. It was these experts who called for Tilly to be executed immediately in the most humane but cost effective way possible.

But that's not where the argument ends. Animal rights activists have lobbied for Tilly and his orca brethren to be set free to live peacefully in the ocean and have government officers fly out once weekly with hundreds of pounds of fish to the orcas' GPS monitored location to ensure these creatures are getting enough to eat. This kind of death, representatives of the Animal Liberation Front stated, proves exactly why an animal should never be made to perform on command for human enjoyment. Tragic consequences will always result. Christian groups such as the American Family Association have called for Tilly to be stoned to death as stated in Exodus 21:28 in the Bible. "When an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner shall not be liable." The group continues though stating that later in this scripture, if the animal is not stoned and kills another man or woman, the owner is to be executed right along with the animal. AFA wants Seaworld execs stoned right along with Tilly for not carrying out Biblical law back in 1991 for the first incident.


On the flip side, Seaworld has been battling for years now because Tilikum is such a large investment for the company. Even before the addition of current court fees, the cold blooded killer was worth over $10 million. He continues to be an asset even with court fees as he has continued to sire offspring while the battle progressed. Seaworld has also stated Tilly does not have the capacity to plan out a murder nor is he a vicious murderer. The trainer knew the risks and safety procedures have been modified to better protect other trainers. To their credit, there has not been another incident in the last 3 years, and even the trainer's own family has stated she would absolutely not want anything to happen to the animal. There has also been a public outcry to save Tilly's life. He has been a source of love and joy for many.


That split on public opinion is what led us all to this point. A decision had to be made and evidence needed to be presented in an unbiased setting. The court proceedings officially began a year ago when documents were first filed and Seaworld paid Tilly's $1 million bond. since then we have seen battle after battle to get this case thrown out of court. Wiley defense attorneys won a change of venue hoping the costs of transporting the whale to California for trial would prevent it from ever being presented in court. No go. America is serious. The animal has to step up to the plate this time.


The DA , in a quick interview after court began today, has stated that the death penalty will be sought in this case. "Americans put this whale, this killer, in a safe environment. We feed him and care for him. We allow him to perform at regular intervals for our sheer entertainment and pleasure gaining him the love of so many and we will not tolerate such willful, malicious disobedience. I will not rest until he pays for the life he has taken..."