| SeaWorld has decided not to appeal a court ruling that prohibits its trainers from performing with killer whales, the Orlando Sentinel reports, citing a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The legal battle has lasted for years, beginning with the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau by an orca named Tilikum in 2010. As we reported after the incident, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined SeaWorld $75,000 and kept trainers from performing alongside orcas. At the time, SeaWorld contested OSHA's conclusion. This past April, a U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., upheld that citation. SeaWorld has taken a lot of heat for its use of orcas for entertainment, particularly after the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which featured Tilikum. Since Brancheau's death in 2010, SeaWorld has taken steps to improve safety for trainers. As NBC 6 in South Florida reports, it "has implemented new safety protocols and equipment for trainers, including an investment of $70 million in lifting floors in the pools that could quickly isolate whales." SeaWorld announced Aug. 15 that it would be creating bigger "living spaces" for the whales, the first of which will be at SeaWorld San Diego and is scheduled to open in 2018. The... |
Showing posts with label SeaWorld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SeaWorld. Show all posts
Friday, August 22, 2014
SeaWorld Won't Appeal Ban On Trainers Performing With Orcas
Friday, November 1, 2013
SeaWorld Appeal Could Force Taming Of Its Popular Shows
(Reuters) - A killer whale, the lawyer-son of a Supreme Court justice and the grisly death of wildlife trainer will play roles in a U.S. appeals court case next month that could forever change marine park operator SeaWorld's marquee entertainment.
The signature attraction for the company's three U.S. theme parks has been shows featuring the black-and-white killer whales or orcas, including several named Shamu, performing flips and other stunts under the direction of trainers who historically have been in close contact with them. But that changed after the February 2010 death of Dawn Brancheau, a 40-year-old trainer. She drowned after being pulled into a pool by Tilikum, a 12,000-pound bull orca, at SeaWorld's site in Orlando, Florida. In August 2010, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined SeaWorld $75,000 for three safety violations, saying it had exposed its trainers to a hazardous environment and violated a part of the Occupational Safety and Health Act known as the general duty clause. OSHA, a part of the Labor Department, demanded SeaWorld make certain changes, notably, physically separating the killer whale trainers from the orcas during show performances. SeaWorld is appealing the broad application of a federal safety law meant to protect workers in unusual circumstances. The case will come before a three-judge panel of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Nov. 12. With animal... |
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Orca whale trainer saw best of Keiko, worst of Tilikum
The fatal accident of a whale trainer continues to be of concern. after a "whale ate" a Sea World trainer. Todays' blog was shaved by CNN.
Watch an encore of "Blackfish" on CNN, Saturday, October 26 at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday, October 27 at 9 p.m. ET.
Colin Baird still remembers the day he got the call from work more than 23 years ago, when he learned of his co-worker's fate.
"We need you to come in," said his colleague from the Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria.
His fellow trainer, 20-year old Keltie Byrne, had slipped and fallen into the orca tank. Byrne was an exceptionally strong swimmer but she was no match for the aquarium's killer whales.
"She tried to get back out and the other girl tried to pull her up, but the whale grabbed her back foot and pulled her under," eyewitness Nadine Kallen told CNN affiliate CTV in 1991. "And then the whales -- they bounced her around the pool a whole bunch of times, and she was screaming for help.
"They tried to grab her with sticks, but they couldn't get her," Kallen said. "And she finally didn't come up any more."
There were three orcas at Sealand at the time -- two females, Haida and Nootka, and Tilikum, the sole male. Tilikum would later become infamous for the 2010 killing of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Tilikum -- or "Tili," as he was known -- was popular and "very easy to work with," Baird recalled.
"He was very easygoing, he learned quickly, he learned well, very responsive," he said. "You know, he was probably my favorite of the three."
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Watch an encore of "Blackfish" on CNN, Saturday, October 26 at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday, October 27 at 9 p.m. ET.
Colin Baird still remembers the day he got the call from work more than 23 years ago, when he learned of his co-worker's fate.
"We need you to come in," said his colleague from the Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria.
His fellow trainer, 20-year old Keltie Byrne, had slipped and fallen into the orca tank. Byrne was an exceptionally strong swimmer but she was no match for the aquarium's killer whales.
"She tried to get back out and the other girl tried to pull her up, but the whale grabbed her back foot and pulled her under," eyewitness Nadine Kallen told CNN affiliate CTV in 1991. "And then the whales -- they bounced her around the pool a whole bunch of times, and she was screaming for help.
"They tried to grab her with sticks, but they couldn't get her," Kallen said. "And she finally didn't come up any more."
There were three orcas at Sealand at the time -- two females, Haida and Nootka, and Tilikum, the sole male. Tilikum would later become infamous for the 2010 killing of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Tilikum -- or "Tili," as he was known -- was popular and "very easy to work with," Baird recalled.
"He was very easygoing, he learned quickly, he learned well, very responsive," he said. "You know, he was probably my favorite of the three."
...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
SeaWorld Safety Investigation Expanded by OSHA
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has filed a petition against SeaWorld of Florida LLC to comply with administrative subpoenas that require SeaWorld to provide three managers to be interviewed during OSHA's follow-up abatement inspection. SeaWorld has declined to provide personnel to answer questions regarding abatement or correction of a prior violation related to trainers' exposure to struck-by and drowning hazards when engaged in performances with killer whales.
"The employee testimony for the follow-up abatement inspection, required by a subpoena, allows OSHA inspectors to determine if SeaWorld employees continue to be exposed to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Abating safety and health hazards in the workplace needs to be as important to an employer as recognizing the hazards in the first place."
The follow-up inspection is being conducted as a result of previous violations that OSHA identified after a February 2010 drowning of a trainer who was grabbed and pulled under the water by a six-ton killer whale during what SeaWorld described as a "relationship session." In August 2010, OSHA issued SeaWorld citations related to the incident. SeaWorld contested OSHA's proposed violations and penalties.
A trial was held by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and in June an administrative law judge upheld OSHA's citations against SeaWorld. Subsequently, SeaWorld was required to abate cited hazards, including those specifically related to trainers working in proximity to the killer whales. However, since the order went into effect, SeaWorld has filed a petition with the review commission seeking additional time to abate the violation regarding trainers' interaction with killer whales. SeaWorld maintains that the petition, which is pending resolution, should restrict the scope of OSHA's follow-up inspection.
The enforcement action has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle of Florida, Orlando Division by the department's Atlanta Regional Solicitor's Office.
Read more about "SeaWorld" and safety issues:
Sep 25, 2011
This week a trial began in Florida between SeaWorld theme parks and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA). The trial is over several citations and a fine stemming from incidents in which killer whales ...
Feb 27, 2010
The terrible and tragic death of Daum Brancheau, the trainer who was attacked at SeaWorld by a killer whale, provides striking evidence that the present system, to make the workplace safer, is not working. The corporate ...
Sunday, September 25, 2011
SeaWorld killer whale attacks expose incomplete incident reporting
This week a trial began in Florida between SeaWorld theme parks and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA). The trial is over several citations and a fine stemming from incidents in which killer whales (also known as orcas) killed or injured trainers at SeaWorld water parks. Most recently, on February 24, 2010, a giant killer whale named Tilikum gruesomely killed trainer Dawn Brancheau by grabbing her ponytail and pulling her under the water in front of a horrified audience.
In August of 2011, SeaWorld was fined $75,000 by OSHA for three safety violations, including one in connection with Brancheau’s death. The agency’s investigation “revealed that SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities,” the OSHA statement said.
Prior to Brancheau’s death, California OSHA had issued a citation against SeaWorld, coming to the conclusion that if procedures at the parks didn’t change, eventually somebody was going to die. SeaWorld used political lobbying to have the citation withdrawn. Just a few years later Dawn Brancheau was killed.
In yesterday’s hearing, OSHA asserted that, although SeaWorld does walk each trainer through all recorded dangerous incidents between whales and humans (98 incidents since 1988), there are many dangerous incidents that just don’t make it into the incident reports.
This brings up an important point that all employers would be smart to take note of: without comprehensive reporting, working conditions will remain unsafe.
EDGAR ROMANO received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Brandeis University and his Juris Doctorate from The John Marshall Law School. He is a Senior Partner in the Workers' Compensation Department and has been with the firm since 1995. Mr. Romano is actively engaged in litigating workers compensation claims including those claims arising out of occupational exposure to asbestos and industrial irritants. He has lectured extensively to labor unions and medical providers. Mr. Romano isPresident of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group and is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Workers' Compensation Bar Association. He is a member of the Leader's Forum of the American Association of Justice and Vice-President of the Workers' Compensation Section. He is a member of theNew York State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Jewish Lawyer's Guild, and NYCOSH. Mr. Romano serves on the Advisory Committee of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program at Mt. Sinai Hospital. He is listed in "Who's Who in American Law"..
Mr. Edgar Romano was selected as one of the "Workers' Compensation Notable People for 2008". He blogs regularly atWorkers' Law Watch where this posted appeared originally on September 23, 2011.
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