From the The Little Mermaid, to Dolphin Tale to the very recent Big Miracle, film has chronicled heart-warming, fictional stories that portray an almost friend-like relationship between a human and a sea creature. They show man’s compassion for animals we long to understand.
As humans, we’re expected to treat each other with respect and dignity. And in the near future, we could be expected to treat dolphins, whales and porpoises the exact same way.
Research has shown that cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises) display similar characteristics to humans. But for Dr. Thomas White, the chair of business ethics at Loyola University in Los Angeles, giving cetaceans the same rights as humans isn’t a scientific issue, it’s a philosophical one. And that’s what he wants to do. White and his colleagues are calling for human rights to be granted to the ocean’s smartest inhabitants.
“The fundamental question is why we say we have to treat humans a particular way, setting aside anything about [other] species and from a philosophical standpoint the argument is based on the fact that we have moral standing,” said White in an interview. He has been studying the issue for roughly 20 years.
This was one of the many points discussed by those supporting the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver two weeks ago.
According to White, who was also an organizer of the conference, research in the past few years has shown cetaceans show a number of human-like characteristics that shouldn’t be ignored.
According to the research, cetaceans have a sense of individuality and self-identity and that they call each other by name using signature whistles. White learned that only humans and dolphins have the ability to do this. On top of that, it’s been discovered that cetaceans mourn the loss of their own.
And then, explains White, there is the mirror self-recognition research.
“Humans, when we look in a mirror and we recognize that that’s us and that’s an ability that you aren’t born with, it takes about 18 months to 24 months for human baby to have that ability. That’s a big marker in brain development and it’s a very sophisticated process. The research has shown that dolphins are able to do that…and that’s absolutely key.”
Giving cetaceans the same rights as humans would mark the end of seeing dolphins and whales in aquariums and at zoos and the end of their film and entertainment careers (and any other hopeful Free Willy sequel).
But for White, the evidence is irrefutable. He believes humans are creatures based on dignity and respect and says we should apply the same treatment for other animals that share some of the same characteristics.
White said there has been some opposition to the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans, but that isn’t any reason to stop pushing for equal rights for them.
“There are going to be some clashes of rights between humans and cetaceans and we deal with that now with clashes between rights between different groups of humans.”
