Catch The Buzz

This article by Kim Flottum ( http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2011.10.26.11.37.archive.html) ( http://blog.beeculture.com/ ) draws a comparison between captive orca and bees employed in our agricultural system. 

Are Bees Next?

In a groundbreaking move for animals, PETA, with the help of three marine-mammal experts and two former orca trainers, will file a landmark lawsuit tomorrow asking a federal court to declare that five wild-caught orcas forced to perform at SeaWorld are being held as slaves in violation of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The 13th Amendment prohibits the condition of slavery, without reference to "person" or any particular class of victims. PETA's general counsel, Jeffrey Kerr, stated, "Slavery does not depend on the species of the slave any more than it depends on gender, race, or religion."

In the wild, orcas work cooperatively, form complex relationships, communicate using distinct dialects, and swim up to 100 miles every day. Their life at SeaWorld deprives them of everything that is natural and important to them. They are limited to small, barren concrete tanks and are forced to perform stupid tricks in exchange for dead fish.

From the BUZZ: One can only wonder…bees are forced to live in square boxes in sometimes vastly over-populated, barren landscapes, are made to fly to and fro in exchange for a diet of un-bee-like dead plant material, and then are forced to visit blossoms of our choosing not theirs, and are finally force-fed medicines not of their choosing (think most pollination jobs). Is this slavery? Are Bees next? But then, think of cattle in a feed lot. Do these creatures have Constitutional Rights?