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Rocker Tommy Lee angered over whale masturbation UPDATED

by Leigh Caldwell (RSS feed) on Dec 8th 2010 at 12:30PM

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee is angry -- really angry -- about the way Shamu is being treated at SeaWorld.

In a letter to SeaWorld Orlando, Lee complains about the methods used by the theme park to obtain sperm from Tillikum - the orca responsible for the death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau this spring.

Tillikum was brought to SeaWorld Orlando specifically for breeding purposes in 1998. He continues to appear in Shamu shows there and to be used in killer whale breeding programs.

PETA, an organization which Lee has long supported, has called for the whale's release back into the wild.

Lee calls Tillikum SeaWorld's "chief sperm bank."

"We know from SeaWorld's own director of safety (as well as videos on the web) that the way you get his sperm is by having someone get into the pool and masturbate him with a cow's vagina filled with hot water," Lee wrote in the letter obtained by TMZ.

"Even in my wildest days with Motley Crue, I never could've imagined something so sick and twisted."

As bizarre as it may sound, manual stimulation of animals is a regular breeding method used by zoos and aquariums for certain species.

Thomas French's 2010 book Zoo Story documents the manual stimulation of a bull elephant at Disney's Animal Kingdom to obtain the sperm used to impregnate a female elephant at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.

UPDATE: SeaWorld Orlando has responded to the breeding methods mentioned in Lee's letter, and they say he's got it all wrong.

Fred Jacobs, vice president of communications for SeaWorld told E! News that 25 of the 27 orca calves born at the theme park were conceived naturally, and the process of collecting semen for the two calves born through artificial insemination is similar to that used in breeding livestock or in programs at zoos.

Lee "contends that semen is collected from Tilikum using a 'cow's vagina filled with hot water.' This is beyond ludicrous. Whatever his views on SeaWorld, Mr. Lee would be wise to spend more time checking his facts," Jacobs said.

[Image credit: Flickr user Hyku]

Filed under: North America, United States, Theme Parks

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Emland Dec 8th 2010 3:45PM

Wonder if we'll see Mike Rowe doing that dirty job soon.

Becky Dec 8th 2010 2:05PM

Total ewwwwwww....

Keith Dec 8th 2010 3:12PM

Someone's jealous.

moth Dec 8th 2010 10:07PM

you should probably mention that its not an actual cows vagina being used. its just a fake vagina.

chaostic2k1 Dec 8th 2010 10:31PM

Whale masturbated with fleshlight. Yep, still sounds bad.

Tom Dec 8th 2010 11:17PM

Tommy lee is just one of the many PETA air heads that is misinformed about the cause they are so called fighting. There is no cause. PETA is an organization that allows celebs to gain more notoriety by playing on the sympathies of their fans. Pamela Anderson did it, Tommy Lee is doing it, as are many other celebs. Its time that we stop the farce and get the facts straight.

Arek Dec 9th 2010 2:13AM

it's not masturbation if someone else does it, its called a handjob :p

Wendy B Dec 9th 2010 2:48AM

Tommy Lee is an idiot! It's called artificial insemination. Sometimes, depending on the species, this has to be done. I am a Registered Veterinary technician and had to be part of this form of breeding. It's usually part of canine breeding or bovine breeding. It is a delicate and sterile procedure. Yes, we would have to stimulate the penis in order to collect the sperm, not a glorious job I tell you. Too bad he didn't research this form of breeding before he made a complete fool of himself.

Ptrix Dec 9th 2010 8:58PM

Tommy Lee...

1. NO cows were harmed in the process. It's an artificial vagina.

2. I doubt that Shamu is complaining. Stop being a hater, and let the whale have his fun.

3. It's all being done to increase the whale population. I thought PETA was in favour of that?