Posted on 05/23/2010 10:34:26 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Whales and dolphins deserve 'human rights' because of their intelligence
Whales and dolphins should get "human rights" to life and liberty because of mounting evidence of their intelligence, a group of conservationists and experts in philosophy, law and ethics have argued.
Published: 6:01PM BST 23 May 2010
Japan, Norway and Iceland, the main whaling nations, oppose arguments that would outlaw hunting or even keeping the mammals in marine parks. They have long said there is no real evidence that they are smarter, for instance, than cows or pigs.
But participants at a University of Helsinki conference said a growing number of studies show the giant marine mammals have human-like self-awareness, an ability to communicate and organise complex societies, making them similar to some great apes.
"We affirm that all cetaceans [marine mammals], as persons, have the right to life, liberty and wellbeing," they said in a declaration after a two-day meeting led by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).
Thomas White, director of the Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University in California, said dolphins could recognise themselves in a mirror, an ability rare in mammals that humans only acquire at about 18 months of age.
"Whaling is ethically unacceptable," he said. "They have a sense of self that we used to think that only human beings have."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
You know, only nutty liberals could want to assign human rights to sea mammals yet deny them to humans in the womb.
Whales get “whale rights”.
Dolphins get “dolphin rights”.
Humans get “human rights”.
Is this really so hard?
LIBs are insane. A whale deserves whale rights. The right to swim aimlessly, the right to defecate in our pristine oceans, the right to spray water out of their blow-hole and the right to sound-pollute the oceans with their incessant deep-frequency noises. That’s it.
LOL
They aren’t very expert regarding the law.
Human rights are not granted based upon intelligence. (If they were, over half the Democrats would be deprived of theirs.)
Humans have a unique ability aside from the animal domain, to identify righteousness and unrighteousness.
When my dog is fed dinner, he might sniff to inquire if it smells and tastes good, but he isn’t inquiring if I’ve righteously thought through how to handle his care.
God made man in His image. There are unique discerning features of man with body, soul, and spirit, discernible from other members of the animal kingdom.
I could get behind that.
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