Tommy Lee slams SeaWorld for masturbating their killer whale

Ex-Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has written to the president of Florida marine theme park SeaWorld to complain about the way they are treating one of their killer whales.

In the letter, published on TMZ.com, Lee complained that the whale, named Tilikum, is being kept away from people and in a tank that is much too small for him, because he is their "chief sperm bank".

Lee was especially annoyed at the way the park extract semen from the whale. "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," he wrote.

He even claimed that his ex-band's debauched antics didn't compare to the treatment of the whale. "Even in my wildest days with Motley Crue I never could've imagined something so sick and twisted," he wrote.

The drummer is an active member of PETA and has spoken out in the past about animal cruelty.

Though SeaWorld are yet to comment publicly on the letter, they have been keeping the whale in isolation as it has been involved in the deaths of three people, including two of the park's trainers. The whale weighs over 5.6 tonnes and is over seven metres long, and has so far produced 13 offspring.