Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumOSHA Review Commission refuses court order to release SeaWorld Safety Protocols for killer whales
Federal agency refuses to release SeaWorld killer whale safety protocols despite court order
By Mike Schneider, The Associated Press October 22, 2013 8:02 AM
ORLANDO, Fla. - A federal agency is refusing to release SeaWorld's new safety protocols for trainer interactions with killer whales despite a judge's ruling that they are not trade secrets. The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has refused to make public the SeaWorld safety protocols almost a month after a deadline passed for their public release. The Associated Press on Monday filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency seeking the protocols. They explain the safety measures SeaWorld trainers are now taking when interacting with killer whales following the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau. She was killed in February 2010 when a six-ton killer whale named Tilikum pulled her into a pool. Agency officials said they worry they could be held criminally liable for releasing trade secrets. Under federal law, a federal government worker or contractor could face up to a year in prison for unlawfully disclosing trade secrets.
"A few of the lawyers here were concerned about whether the agency could potentially be held liable for releasing the protocols," agency spokesman Melik Ahmir-abdul said in an email. A federal judge in August denied a request from SeaWorld to keep the protocols secret, saying the marine park company had failed to establish that its safety protocols are a trade secret. He gave the commission a month to review his order before making the protocols public in late September. The agency never released the safety protocols then. "The protocols that SeaWorld wants to remain under seal reflect the training methods and techniques its trainers implement poolside with the killer whales," Judge Ken Welsch wrote in his ruling. "An observer knowledgeable in the behaviour and training of killer whales could likely ascertain the information contained in the written protocols by watching the trainers interact with the killer whales." A SeaWorld spokesman did not immediately respond to emailed questions.
http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Despite+court+order+federal+agency+refuses+release+SeaWorld/9066626/story.html
Related
SeaWorld has retained a new lead lawyer: Eugene Scalia, son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The younger Scalia is the former solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor the same agency he is now defending SeaWorld against.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-08-03/business/os-seaworld-battles-blackfish-and-osha-20130803_1_seaworld-orlando-tilikum-dawn-brancheau
Killer Whale Katsatka almost drowns trainer Ken Peters 2006
Blackfish, movie on killer whale Tilikum who killed trainer in 2010 will be on CNN Oct 24th.
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/10/cnn-films-broadcasts-blackfish-and-pandoras-promise-in-october-november/
stuntcat
(12,022 posts)yes, even Corporate News Network will help us see Blackfish
AS IF the average American tv viewer could give a damn about things like this!
Wonder what CNN is thinking.. next they'll tell their viewers the truth about the environment, or even the "meat" industry
Nah, that was just a joke, they'll never go there!
Beringia
(4,316 posts)stuntcat
(12,022 posts)hatrack
(59,587 posts)nt