Visitors to Vallarta Adventure park in Nuevo Vallarta in Mexico watch month-old orphan killer whale Pascuala
Visitors to Vallarta Adventure park in Nuevo Vallarta in Mexico's western state of Nayarit watch month-old orphan killer whale Pascuala May 17, 2007. Pascuala was found when she was only days old stranded on a beach 100km (62 miles) north of Nuevo Vallarta and brought to the park to be looked after. Pascuala is the first recorded case of a killer whale born in the wild to be cared for by humans. The owners of the park hope to send Pascuala to a much larger aquarium so she can be cared for and live in the company of other killer whales. Reuters

SeaWorld is working to fight safety charges after a Florida trainer was drowned by a killer whale.

The company may have to pay a $75,000 fine after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor found three safety violations, Reuters reported.

The court proceedings come more than a year after whale trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed when an orca, Tilikum, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her underwater.

She drowned and suffered from traumatic injuries, according to a medical examiner, the Associated Press reported.

The lawsuit has resonated throughout the industry.

A lot of people are following this, biologist and director emeritus of Ohio's Columbus Zoo Jack Hanna said, the Orlando Sentinel reported. I'm concerned about the outcome. And I think anybody in our business should be.

There is a decades-long history of humans being attacked and sometimes killed by killer whales in captivity.

Most people get their education about marine mammals from marine facilities like SeaWorld, Human Society International senior scientist Naomi Rose told the organization Change.org, Inc. in Feb. It is therefore only proper that its actions and any regulatory matters related to those actions be discussed openly and transparently.

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