ORLANDO, Fla. — The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has now filed a federal complaint against SeaWorld after an 8-year-old girl was bitten by a dolphin last month.
The incident was caught on cellphone video by Jamie Thomas of Alpharetta, Ga.
In his YouTube post, Thomas explains that his daughter, Jillian Thomas, was bitten by the dolphin while they were at SeaWorld's Dolphin Encounter attraction on Nov. 21.
PETA is now asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate and "hold SeaWorld accountable for endangering both the dolphin and the public."
Jillian and her family said they acknowledge that she made a mistake by raising the empty container above the tank's rail, but they hope SeaWorld will make changes to prevent an incident like that from happening again.
"I know why the dolphin did that. I know I wasn't supposed to do that," Jillian said.
Despite the scary moment, she was more concerned about the dolphin swallowing the paper container.
"I was worried because the dolphin might get sick because of that," she said.
Jillian had an injury on her hand that she said felt like a bad scratch.
WFTV
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