After biting a 9 year old visitor at SeaWorld, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, have prompted an investigation on a dolphin at SeaWorld's Dolphin Cove exhibit.
According to PETA, the 9 year old girl was bitten by the dolphin when she was trying to pet it.
"It’s stressful enough for far-ranging dolphins to be locked up in SeaWorld’s tiny tanks, but forcing them to interact with visitors is downright dangerous,” said Jeff Kerr, general counsel to PETA.
ABC News reported that the dolphin bit the girl and was holding onto her hand and wrist so tightly that the child and her mother were unable to remove her hand from the dolphin's mouth. The girl suffers from bite marks and swelling to her hand and wrist.
A PETA report notes that SeaWorld is blaming the young girl for the incident that occured "because she held out her hand in a way that made it look as if she was holding a treat". SeaWorld did not “offer the victim first-aid, though the victim suffered bite marks and swelling to her skin," the PETA report stated.
Yahoo! News noted that this incident was extremely similar to past occurrences at SeaWorld. In December 2012, a dolphin bit an 8 year old and caused wounds to the arm. Another incident was reported in 2006 where a dolphin's mouth had to be forced open after attacking a 7 year old.
“SeaWorld has repeatedly shown a complete disregard for federal laws meant to protect animal welfare and public safety and has tried to brush off this latest incident,” said Jared Goodman, director of animal law at PETA Foundation.
The most recent incident is still under investigation without any comments from the USDA.
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