Rights for whales and dolphins

One of the interesting trends over the last thirty to forty years has been the growth in concern in human rights - as if the removal of economic rights in the face of globalisation and financialisation has been compensated for in other domains. And the logical extension is that other species have rights as well. Which is why it's worth noting the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins at a recent conference in Helsinki. It is a significant weak signal, I think.

You can read the declaration for yourself - or even sign it, if you want to - but the preamble is clear that the Declaration is founded on an extension of human rights and of international law:

Based on the principle of the equal treatment of all persons;
Recognizing that scientific research gives us deeper insights into the complexities of cetacean minds, societies and cultures;
Noting that the progressive development of international law manifests a growing sense of entitlement by cetaceans;
We affirm that all cetaceans as persons have the right to life, liberty and wellbeing.

My company recently did some 100-year scenarios for an environmental client; one of the scenarios proved to have complex arguments about rights for species (their scale and their extent). As pressure on the biosphere becomes more intense, it seems likely to become an increasing flashpoint for ecological, political and moral conflict. 

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