The question of whether whales and dolphins should have rights just like humans was brought to the fore recently by the issue of keeping cetaceans (killer whales and dolphins) in captivity. An orca at Seaworld in Florida killed its trainer, bringing attention to the conditions in which these creatures are kept, and how unnatural, restrictive and unstimulating they are in comparison to orcas’ and dolphins’ usual habitat.
I must admit to dismissing those who brought the Seaworld legal action (PETA) as fringe lunatics who were an embarrassment to right-thinking conservationists everywhere, but this short article on Wired.com sets out the arguments for personhood of cetaceans in a way that makes one think:
Dolphins and whales have brains that are exceptional for their size, second only to modern humans in being larger than one would expect. They also possess neurological structures that, in humans, are linked to high-level social and intellectual function.
If all we knew of cetaceans was their brains, we’d probably expect them to be persons, but of course scientists know much more. Tests in captivity have returned evidence of symbolic understanding and abstract reasoning. They seem to be just as aware of themselves as selves as we are, and observations in the wild are even more compelling.
…
Wise insists that animal personhood won’t require some radical judicial step, just a fair reading of legal precedent and a willingness to consider the notion that intelligence, autonomy and feeling, not taxonomic designation, is what makes beings eligible for legal rights.
The organisation spearheading this movement is called the Nonhuman Rights Project. Their website is here.
You can read the entire article here.
Comments are closed.