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| Dolphins can sleep with half their brain and can therefore stay awake for at least two weeks (S.D. McCulloch/earthsky.org) |
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| Dolphins (Jesslee Cuizon/earthsky.org) |
India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests has decided to forbid the
keeping of captive dolphins for public entertainment anywhere in the
country.
In a policy statement released Friday, the ministry advised state
governments to reject any proposal to establish a dolphinarium “by
any person / persons, organizations, government agencies, private or
public enterprises that involves import, capture of cetacean species to
establish for commercial entertainment, private or public exhibition and
interaction purposes whatsoever.” Why?
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| Social dolphins (cutepictures.co) |
“Whereas cetaceans in general are highly intelligent and
sensitive, and various scientists who have researched dolphin behavior
have suggested that the unusually high intelligence; as compared to
other animals means that dolphins should be seen as ‘non-human
persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights and is
morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purpose,” the ministry said....
[This] happened back in May and somehow escaped worldwide attention and
the 24-hour media hoopla. The effort to re-categorize cetaceans
(dolphins, whales, porpoises) as non-human persons has been gathering
steam since a meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of
Science in 2011, when a group of philosophers, conservationists, and
animal behaviorists attempted to gather wide support for a
Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans from the scientific community.
The Declaration for Dolphins
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| The cetacea, evolving family (wiki) |
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.
- All cetaceans have the right to freedom of movement and residence within their natural environment.
- No cetacean is the property of any state, corporation, human group, or individual.
- Cetaceans have the right to the protection of their natural environment.
- Cetaceans have the right not to be subject to the disruption of their cultures.
- The rights, freedoms, and norms set forth in this Declaration should be protected under international and domestic law.
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