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Dolphins deserve same rights as humans, say scientists

Dolphins should be treated as non-human "persons", with their rights to life and liberty respected, scientists meeting in Canada have been told.

Experts in philosophy, conservation and animal behaviour want support for a Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans.

They believe dolphins and whales are sufficiently intelligent to justify the same ethical considerations as humans.

Recognising their rights would mean an end to whaling and their captivity, or their use in entertainment.

The move was made at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, Canada, the world's biggest science conference.

It is based on years of research that has shown dolphins and whales have large, complex brains and a human-like level of self-awareness.

This has led the experts to conclude that although non-human, dolphins and whales are "people" in a philosophical sense, which has far-reaching implications.

Ethics expert Prof Tom White, from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, author of In Defence of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier, said dolphins were "non-human persons".

"A person needs to be an individual. If individuals count, then the deliberate killing of individuals of this sort is ethically the equivalent of deliberately killing a human being.

"We're saying the science has shown that individuality - consciousness, self-awareness - is no longer a unique human property. That poses all kinds of challenges."

The declaration, originally agreed in May 2010, contains the statements "every individual cetacean has the right to life", "no cetacean should be held in captivity or servitude, be subject to cruel treatment, or be removed from their natural environment", and "no cetacean is the property of any state, corporation, human group or individual".

It adds: "The rights, freedoms and norms set forth in this declaration should be protected under international and domestic law."

Psychologist Dr Lori Marino, from Emory University in Atlanta, told how scientific advances had changed the view of the cetacean brain.

She said: "We went from seeing the dolphin/whale brain as being a giant amorphous blob that doesn't carry a lot of intelligence and complexity to not only being an enormous brain but an enormous brain with an enormous amount of complexity, and a complexity that rivals our own."

Dolphins had a sense of self which could be tested by the way they recognise themselves in mirrors, she added.

"When you get up in the morning and look in the mirror and know that's you, you have a sense of 'you'," said Dr Marino.

"They have a similar sense. They can look in a mirror and say, 'Hey, that's me'."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17116882

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Marc Draco on July 5, 2012 at 12:07pm

Anyone think that will stop the Japanese and other hunting nations?

Thought not.

Permalink Reply by Ophelia McGraw on July 6, 2012 at 5:05pm

The current laws don't stop them so I don't see them abiding by any new laws.

Permalink Reply by Orson_Zedd on July 5, 2012 at 12:32pm

You mean we have to choose between Sea World and an end to whaling? Why?

Permalink Reply by Stuart Jeremy Oxley on July 5, 2012 at 12:51pm

Anybody with an ounce of intelligence can tell these creatures are different to most animals, and closer in social intelligence to ourselves. Its a crying shame that scientists have to prove it.
If you want to help stop what amounts to legalised genocide, support The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. They may be a bunch of vegan hippies but they have been the most effective and direct impact on illegal Japanese Whaling in the southern ocean. They are also trying to stop the barbaric grind in the Feroe Islands.
Tradition and other crap doesn't wash with me. Cannablism is a tradition too!

Permalink Reply by Chuck VonDerAhe on July 5, 2012 at 1:06pm

If corporations can be people, why not whales and dolphins?

If the resolution fails, all they have to do is incorporate! Solved.

Permalink Reply by dr kellie on July 5, 2012 at 4:07pm

It would be nice if our treatment of all animals was improved.

Religious folk are sure to disagree. Unless dolphins start loving jesus.

Permalink Reply by James Bradford on July 5, 2012 at 8:12pm

This is a novel idea, and I agree with it for the most part. I don't see it passing though. It would hurt businesses, like Sea World, that make money off of whale and dolphin shows. Politicians are far more interested in money than they are in even preserving our own rights. It is a shame too because they are very intelligent creatures. They are on par with our own intelligence. They should be preserved so we can see what their next evolutionary step will be.

Permalink Reply by Lillie on July 5, 2012 at 9:47pm