“International
law manifests a growing sense of duty to whales and dolphins; contemporary
ethical reflection brings new theoretical tools to bear on cetacean moral status;
and scientific research gives us novel insights in the complexities of cetacean
minds and societies,” reads a statement on Cetaceanrights.org, a website that
details the recently popular Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans.
In
late February, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
requested support for this declaration, a document created at a conference in
Finland in 2010. The declaration outlines a series of rights for whales and dolphins,
including the right to life, freedom of movement, protection of their natural
environment, and freedom from being property of a State, corporation, human
group or individual.
The
declaration demands that the rights and freedoms outlined in the document be
protected under international and domestic law.
It
was created in 2010, but the recent endorsement of the AAAS created significant
publicity. They held their meeting in Vancouver in late February, and brought
together zoologists and ethicists to evaluate the merits of granting these
rights to dolphins and whales. Professor Tom White, from Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles, told the BBC that dolphins were “non-human persons”.
“A
person needs to be an individual,” White said. “If individuals count, then the
deliberate killing of individuals of this sort is ethically the equivalent of
deliberately killing a human being.”
Although
the Declaration of Rights is significant, it is not the only time that a call
has been made to protect marine mammals.
BORN
THIS WAY
In
February, five killer whales were successfully named plaintiffs in a lawsuit
against SeaWorld. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has
claimed that the whales are treated like slaves for being forced to live in
tanks and perform on a regular basis in both San Diego and Orlando.
“This
case is on the next frontier of civil rights,” PETA’s attorney Jeffrey Kerr,
who will represent the whales in the case, told the Telegraph. Upon hearing
that the judge would take the case, Kerr noted that the day was historic,
because for the first time in American history, “a federal court heard
arguments as to whether living, breathing, feeling beings have rights and can
be enslaved simply because they happen to not have been born human.”
There
were objections raised, because many were concerned the case would result in a
slippery slope. Other animals are used for human benefit, including bomb
sniffer dogs in airports, and scientists’ experiments on marine mammals still
living in the wild.
PETA
argues that the whales being kept in ‘slavery’ is a violation of the
Constitution’s 13th amendment, which prohibits slavery between humans.
“With
all due respect, the court does not have the authority,” said Theodore Shaw,
Sea World’s attorney. “Neither orcas nor any other animal were included in the
‘We the people’…when the Constitution was adopted.”
WHALE
GEEKS
One
of the reasons that the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans was created in the
first place, and the reason that PETA can successfully create a court case
against the slavery of whales, is because science has proven that cetaceans
(mammals best adapted to life in water, including whales, dolphins and
porpoises) have well-developed brains and a level of self awareness comparable
to that of humans.
Cetaceans
have demonstrated an understanding of a concept of ‘you’ – they can look in the
mirror and know that they are looking at themselves. While most of the studies
have been done around dolphins, other cetaceans have demonstrated similar
characteristics.
Dolphins
have shown the ability to mimic actions that they see in others. For example,
in her journal “Observing Cognitive Complexity in Primates and Cetaceans,”
Christine M. Johnson described a situation where a baby dolphin released a
mouthful of its mother’s milk, mimicking a cloud of cigarette smoke exhibited
by an aquarium visitor. Dolphins also exhibit vocal imitation – something that
is rare among other mammals.
Johnson
explained that: “cetaceans do show the sort of sensitivity to the attention of
others that is characteristic of … complex social interactions.”
Dolphins
help lead their fellow dolphins by looking back at their pod and then looking
the direction that they want to go, signifying that they are sensitive to
communication with others, as well as aware of the presence of other dolphins
in relation to themselves.
“Science
has shown that individuality – consciousness, self-awareness – is no longer a
unique human property. That poses all kinds of challenges,” said White.
UNDER
LOCK AND KEY
Beyond
the mental capabilities, there have been many cases where dolphins and whales
in particular have reacted poorly to being kept in captivity.
In
2010, a trainer at SeaWorld was killed after an orca named Tilikum dragged her
underwater and repeatedly struck her – all in front of an audience watching one
of SeaWorld’s daily shows. Tilikum has been linked to two other SeaWorld
deaths, one in 1991 where he, with assistance from two other whales, prevented
a trainer from leaving her tank after she fell in. The other incident in 1999
occurred when a man was found dead next to Tilikum – and although investigation
stated he died of hypothermia, there was also an allegation that the whale had
initially torn off his trunks and bitten him (which orcas do to identify
foreign objects, the same way humans touch something to identify it).
However, SeaWorld’s animal training curator, Kelly Flaherty Clark has said in a statement that: “participating in shows is just a portion of Tilikum’s day, but we feel it is an important component of his physical, social and mental enrichment.”
Although
cases where trainers have drowned because of a whale are fairly rare, whales
have often suffered as a result of being kept in captivity – and most of the
whales in captivity are orcas, a population that has seen a decline in overall
numbers because of environmental threats and human actions.
The
first whale to be captured for display was Wanda, who was placed in captivity
in 1961. She survived for two days before she died. In the fifteen years
following Wanda’s capture, more than fifty whales were taken from the Pacific
ocean and placed in captivity.
According
to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, there are currently 42 orcas in
captivity, of the 137 orcas that have been captured from the wild since 1961.
Whales born in captivity have had an average lifespan of 4.5 years, whereas in
the wild male orcas live to an average of 17 years, and females, 29 years,
though this is affected by “high levels of neonatal mortality,” according to
the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ website. “In the wild, mortality
between the ages of birth to six months can be as high as 50 percent.”
GRADUAL
IMPROVEMENTS
The
Vancouver Aquarium has had an interesting history with their cetaceans. They
were the first aquarium in the world to capture and display an orca, but in
1996 they signed an agreement with the Vancouver Parks Board that said they
wouldn’t capture cetaceans from the wild for display purposes, and would only
borrow or transfer cetaceans from other facilities if they met a list of
provisions.
The
aquarium has allegedly violated this agreement, with the transfer of a dolphin
from Japan in 2001. Advocacy groups like No Whales in Captivity (a group that
presented at the AAAS’ conference) have accused the bylaw of being full of
loopholes. Since 1996, the debate on whether or not cetaceans should be kept in
captivity at all has resurfaced several times.
Christianne
Wilhelmson, executive director of an advocacy group called Georgia Straight
Alliance, notes that the aquarium has made improvements.
“They
rescue marine mammals from death, they take them in, they bring them back to
health and many times they return them to the marine environment,” she says.
The
aquarium is now host to several research and protection programs, including the
Marine Mammal Rescue and Rehabilitation Program, the B.C. Wild Killer Whale
Adoption Program and the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network.
“In
this day and age you cannot paint these institutions in the way you used to
thirty or forty years ago,” says Wilhelmson. “There are obviously still issues,
and…we need to continue to have this conversation. [We need to] still look for
better ways for those marine mammals that cannot be returned to the
environment, how we can give them a good life and then also create a situation
where children and adults can get a better connection [with the marine
environment].”
PROTECTED
BY LAW
Although
the Declaration of Cetacean Rights is aiming to give cetaceans a list of
privileges, in Canada there are already a series of strict rules that are in
place. Whales have been protected from commercial whaling in 1972 under the
Fisheries Act of Canada, and B.C.’s Wildlife Act (the exception is Aboriginal
hunting).
There
are also regulations laid out by various bodies that outline the nature in
which whale-watching may occur, and how cetaceans (and other animals) may be
used in research, both by scientists and students doing fieldwork at a
university. Even though cetaceans do not currently have legal status, there
have been provisions put in place over the years to ensure that their
populations are being protected.
The
Canadian Council on Animal Care has created standards that researchers using
animals for scientific purposes must adhere to. These regulations include
details on the handling of observational projects, physical restraint of
wildlife, and marking of animals.
The
Vancouver Aquarium, too, has been constantly expanding the research aspect of
its facility, in particular research surrounding orcas.
“They’ve
come a long way in becoming far more of an educational facility … and the
scientific research that they do is helping us understand killer whales in
particular in the wild,” says Wilhelmson, noting that the research would also
assist the government in making “positive changes to protect these animals in
the wild.”
As
with any situation where animals are held in captivity, an argument can be made
that aquariums and related institutions do have a place, as they are educating
the public on wildlife and enabling people to gain an appreciation for the
beauty of nature.
HOME
SWEET HOME
Opinions
on the legitimacy of the Declaration for Cetacean Rights are varied, but the
document does bring attention to a very important issue. Humans have been
affecting cetacean populations for decades in a very negative way. Although
more frequently places like the Vancouver Aquarium are bringing in whales only
because they couldn’t survive in the wild, the ethics of capturing whales and
dolphins for commercial gain have been raised. Protecting marine mammals does
go beyond the captivity debate. Our everyday actions can have significant
impacts on the marine environment.
“You
can try to protect marine mammals, but if you’re not also protecting the food
and their habitat, it’s only having part of the conversation,” says Wilhelmson.
There
are several ways that we can change the impact we are having on the marine
environment, including being selective about the salmon we eat, choosing
products with less packaging, and being aware of what we’re pouring down our
drains.
“Our
impact on the marine environment is highly negative, and we need to re-balance
that,” says Wilhelmson. “We need to live our lives with respect to nature [and]
in balance with nature. That includes everything from plants through to fish,
through to marine mammals.”
When
looking at the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans and similar initiatives, it
is important to remember that they are only one piece in the marine environment
puzzle. Much progress has been made towards protecting marine mammals, but both
internationally and in Vancouver, the debate on cetaceans in captivity is
anything but over.
//Samantha Thompson, editor-in-chief
// Graphics by Faye Alexander
//Samantha Thompson, editor-in-chief
// Graphics by Faye Alexander
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