The case resulted from the February 2010 death of DawnBrancheau, a 40-year-old marine life trainer at SeaWorldEntertainment Inc's Orlando park, and a U.S. LaborDepartment safety order that came after that tragedy.
Brancheau drowned when a 12,000-pound (5,440-kg) bull killerwhale, or orca, named Tilikum pulled her into a pool.
Close interaction between whales and humans is "the premiseof SeaWorld's entertainment," the company's attorney, EugeneScalia, told a three-judge panel of the U.S Court of Appeals forthe District of Columbia Circuit.
The Labor Department order is like the "government came inand told the NFL (National Football League) that close contacton the football field would have to end" for safety reasons,said Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Six months after Brancheau's death, the Occupational Safetyand Health Administration (OSHA) said SeaWorld had exposed itstrainers to a hazardous environment, violating the OccupationalSafety and Health Act's "general duty" clause.
OSHA, part of the Labor Department, ordered SeaWorld to makechanges, including physically separating trainers and orcasduring performances.
OSHA also fined SeaWorld $75,000 for three safetyviolations. An administrative law judge of the OccupationalSafety and Health Review Commission reduced the fine last yearto $12,000 after downgrading one of the violations. Source and More Details
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