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Rights of Non-Human Persons

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Treatment of Non-Human Persons. Taiji dolphin drive hunt. The Taiji dolphin drive hunt is a dolphin drive hunt that takes place in Taiji, Wakayama in Japan every year from September to March. According to the Japanese Fisheries Research Agency, 1,623 dolphins were caught in Wakayama Prefecture in 2007 for human consumption or resale to dolphinariums, and most of these were caught at Taiji.[1] The annual dolphin hunt provides income for local residents, but has received international criticism for both the cruelty of the dolphin killing and the high mercury levels of the dolphin meat.[2] History[edit] Residents of Taiji have been refining whaling techniques and have had significant whaling operations since the early 17th century,[3] and became known as a center for whaling in 1675.[4] Hunting dolphins for commercial purposes in Taiji continues.

Method[edit] In Japan, the hunting is done by a select group of fishermen.[7] When a pod of dolphins has been spotted, fishing boats move into position. Health risks[edit] Environmentalist activities[edit] Models. The Radical Plan To Phase Out Earth's Predatory Species. Thousands of Monkeys are Being Sacrificed in the War on Terror. New Zealand legally recognises animals as 'sentient' beings. Last updated 13:28, May 9 2015 Marion van Dijk Robyn Edie Brad Reeve Cameron Burnell Charlotte Curd Bruce Mercer Mike Scott Mike Scott Animals have feelings, too.

Just look at this boxer at the Nelson SPCA. How about these cuddly kittens at the Invercargill SPCA? Julio the Hedgehog in Timaru. Richard, the pet sheep from Otaki that thinks it's a dog, seems to feel pretty good about this situation. One of these is feeling more sure about this than the other. Flo the bunny and Yoyo the cat, of Taranaki, seem to share mutual feelings about this grooming arrangement. Wusif Rashedi, 4, and and Roxy Heart. This young pup at the Hamilton SPCA is now legally recognised as having feelings. A change to New Zealand law has recognised what pet owners and scientists have known for years - that animals have feelings. The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, which passed its final reading on Tuesday, states that animals, like humans, are "sentient" beings. "It's great to finally see it brought into legislation. Can technology help us put an end to animal experimentation? A New York Judge Has Granted Legal Person Rights To Chimpanzees [Updated]

Why Freeing Elephant Performers Is Not Nearly Enough. On the one hand, I'm glad the Elephants won't be mistreated any longer. On the other, there is no reason for me to go to the circus anymore because the Elephant performance was the best part. You know nobody goes for the damn clowns anymore and with the this you know they'll end up retiring their other animal acts.

Basically unless you like clowns and acrobats the circus is essentially dead. And yes I would rather not have a circus than have animals abused incase anyone mistakes that as an argument against retiring them. Flagged Well, that leaves circuses like Cirque de Soleil; they do not have animal acts. Well, true... Argentine court extends human right to freedom to orangutan. Published time: December 22, 2014 03:27 An orangutan named Sandra (Reuters / Marcos Brindicci) In an unprecedented decision, an Argentine court has ruled that the Sumatran orangutan 'Sandra', who has spent 20 years at the zoo in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires, should be recognized as a person with a right to freedom. The ruling, signed by the judges unanimously, would see Sandra freed from captivity and transferred to a nature sanctuary in Brazil after a court recognized the primate as a "non-human person" which has some basic human rights. The Buenos Aires zoo has 10 working days to seek an appeal.

The "habeas corpus" ruling in favor of the orangutan was requested last November by the Association of Professional Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) alleging that Sandra suffered "unjustified confinement of an animal with proven cognitive ability. " Habeas corpus is a fundamental legal term in human rights, dating back to the early fourteenth century during the reign of Edward I in England.

Personhood Beyond the Human Conference | December 6-8 2013 Yale University, New Haven CT. ​Experts Gather at Yale to Discuss Whether Animals Are People. My point is primarily that: What defines us as human now may not apply to "us" as we may be in a decade. At what point does a person stop being human? At what point must we say, "This individual is a sentient, sapient being and should have the rights all sentient, sapient beings are entitled to. " At some point, the definition of what it means to be human has to be expanded - because we are a species that is changing itself far more rapidly than our laws are adapting to that change.

By expanding the legal definition now, we avoid having to wait until thousands or millions of people are persecuted or killed before we take a step back and say "hey, lets rethink this thing". If a person loses the protections because they no longer fit the definition of "human" then there will be those who will happily take advantage of the situation. You can't murder something that is not human. We have to have moral responsibility for the laws that are passed. Personhood Beyond the Human Conference | December 6-8 2013 Yale University, New Haven CT. Putting an end to dolphin exploitation at aquatic theme parks. A number of years ago I visited Sea World in Orlando, Florida. The experience proved to be a formative one, as it would mark the last time I would ever visit an aquatic theme park. What I saw there at the dolphin show that day shattered all illusions I had about the treatment of dolphins at these parks, while at the same time demonstrating to me the obvious ways in which they can express their individuality and intentions—and how this is conveniently ignored by us in ways that are completely self-serving.

The show got off to a rocky start. As the cheesy performance music blared through the loudspeakers, the trainers enthusiastically marched to the stage and assumed their positions. But the dolphins ignored the cue. The trainers tried again, but the dolphins remained steadfast. So, the trainers stopped the show and addressed the audience. Once again, the trainers marched to their stations and the cheesy music began anew. These dolphins are slaves. Keeping whales in captivity is insane. Here's why. I'm a phd in animal behaviour. I have also worked in wildlife rehabilitation. Pets are domesticated (dogs have been with us since before we had figured out the technology to make a holding vessel) and are capable of reading our social cues, and living in harmony with us.

Indeed, some posit they parasitise us socially, like a cuckoo chick. It is a completely different situation to a captive wild animal. Habituated wild animals don't behave in the some way as a domesticated pet. I'm not against all zoos, but I do think certain species (especially those with complex social bonds and wide home ranges) are completely unsuited for captive life. Now you don't have to listen to me any more than anyone else, but that's my reasoning and my background. I actually think you just helped make my point. Were it considered more pratical I believe some of the zoo animals might be considered as a domestic pet. Sorry, but I still disagree. No, dolphins are not your 'therapists.' So just stop it.

I strongly suspect that both asshole and magical dolphin stereotypes are just extreme generalizations. Dolphins probably have a wide range of personalities from great to shitty. A pod of dolphins has lived for many many years in the saltwater marsh and river in front of my father's house in South Carolina (behind Hilton Head.) There are usually around...kind of hard to say, like 20 there?

New babies get born, and we name them, and then the babies get bigger, and hang around in the teenage group (really), eventually get trusted with babysitting duties, move on up, etc. I'm not sure if the boys get kicked out and the mothers stay, or what. We see them every day, from the bluff, or the dock, or the sea kayaks we paddle around in. That said, they are scary as fuck. I would rather swim with sharks than dolphins...

Nice. Penguin_apocalypse comments on Killer Whale approaches boat to immitate motor sounds. New Law Could End Killer Whale Shows in California. India bans captive dolphin shows, says dolphins should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ Dolphins have long been one of our favorite ocean-going animal counterparts , blurring the line that separates human intelligence and emotion from the wildness of nature. Sadly, though, this attraction has resulted in dolphins around the world being exploited for our entertainment, subjected to a life in captivity. But now, in a bold move to protect the well-being of dolphins, India has moved to ban dolphin shows -- a push that helps elevate their status from creatures of mere curiosity to one that borders more closely to that of personhood.

Late last week, India's Minstry of the Environment and Forests released a statement banning "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.” Ezra S F / CC BY 2.0 © Google Maps. IEET Rights of Non-Human Persons Program. The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) is committed to the idea that some non-human animals meet the criteria of legal personhood and thus are deserving of specific rights and protections.

Owing to advances in several fields, including the neurosciences, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the human species no longer can ignore the rights of non-human persons. A number of non-human animals, including the great apes, cetaceans (i.e. dolphins and whales), elephants, and parrots, exhibit characteristics and tendencies consistent with that of a person's traits like self-awareness, intentionality, creativity, symbolic communication, and many others. It is a moral and legal imperative that we now extend the protection of 'human rights' from our species to all beings with those characteristics. Specifically, through the Rights of Non-Human Persons program, the IEET will strive to: SeaWorld Succeeds In Delaying Orca Welfare Bill "For Further Study" So feel free to weigh in, but surely if the Orcas were, one by one, placed in sea-pens and allowed to communicate and interact with passing wild pods, there actually would be a chance of releasing them?

Wouldn't the females be more likely to be adopted by pods, as well? Bit off-topic now but, it's sort of like how I imagined solving the Tiger extinction problem: Apparently a big problem with Tiger numbers is a lack of diversity in the gene pool, and we have a massive amount of privately and zoo kept tigers, so why not just grab the captive males, stick it in the wild habitat in a fenced off area plus monitoring station, encourage a wild female to come by, let it into the enclosure *cue nasty business* BOOM impregnated female sods off back to the jungle. No? Or why not just artificially inseminate them with captive male stock if that's too much hassle? Im sure these things have been considered, but I'd like to know why they aren't worth trying.