PETA Sues SeaWorld: Animal Slavery?

I am all for standing up for animals and fighting for the ethical treatment of all animals. Of course, this is PETA. While I agree with what they set out to do...what they are supposed to stand for, they generally go about it in a way that is ineffective and labels them as extreme. Unfortunately, if you're an animal activist, you also get this reputation. Recently, close to where I live, PETA wanted to purchase some road signs off of an interstate to create a memorial for some cattle who died in a an accident with their trailer. We don't go putting up memorial signs all over the place for people who have died in accidents, not to mention the majority of people driving by won't know or care what the signs mean. It's a waste of time and money. I'm sure there are plenty of other areas, such as educating people on the conditions of livestock, circus animals, etc., where PETA could focus their attention and money. Aside from this, PETA is trying to say that Sea World is enslaving the orcas in their facilities and they're trying to apply the 13th amendment to them. I do feel Sea World should not keep orcas and dolphins and, in a way, they could be deemed as slaves. Places, like Sea World, will capture these animals, separating them from families and friends, they undergo abnormal conditions in the whole transportation process, they end up in a strange place that is nothing like their natural habitat, many places shock the animals in order to train them, and they don't have the room, company, or ability to feed naturally. Many animals may die along the way.* All of this is for our money and entertainment. You can't apply the 13th amendment to the animals, but we need entirely new legislation and we need legislation that gives ALL animals rights. They deserve the right to live a normal life where they aren't exploited by humans. "Living property" isn't good enough. Do you really feel okay with considering your pet dog a piece of property? While this is an overwhelming task, it is what we must strive for.

To put this in perspective, here is a little something to think about:

Say there is an advanced alien race who begins coming to Earth and capturing us (humans), killing some of us along the way, and transporting us to their planet. Everything is completely different on this new planet. We don't know what is happening to us and we have no way of communicating with these aliens. They run tests on us, train us using electric shocks to keep us from doing what is wrong, we are kept separate from our loved ones, not aloud to read, draw, play video games, or the countless other things we do in our every day lives. We are miserable, but have no way to voice our distress. Would you hope some aliens would come to your rescue and fight for your rights as a living being? Unfortunately, this is what animals, like the orcas at Sea World, hogs at a hog farm, cows on a dairy farm, animals in the circus, etc. deal with. They can't voice their distress about a situation. Even when they try by wailing in pain, we have a deaf ear. As another living animal on this planet, we have a moral responsibility to all we share it with.

*If you haven't seen The Cove, you should. The trapping and killing of the dolphins, the water turning red, and the cries of dolphins as they fight to protect their loved ones is gut-wrenching. Please open your eyes and ears, for the animals are trying to ask for our help.