Justice at Sea: Can Dolphins & Whales Sue?

“Can dolphins sue a Japanese Firm? A legal debate is brewing in the Philippines where two lawyers are acting in behalf of resident sea mammals. The ‘petitioners’ include ‘toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises and other cetacean species’ whose habitat has been disturbed by underwater blasting and drilling from a Japanese oil exploration firm.

The question is whether or not cetaceans have rights under the Filipino Constitution. Raising many legal and environmental questions, the novel case was filed this week at the Filipino Supreme Court. The petition for certiorari with mandamus and injunction seeks to stop further offshore explorations by the Japan Petroleum Exploration Company Ltd., (Japex) which started tests recently off the western side of the Philippine province of Cebu, which is flanked on both sides by the bio-diverse straits of Bohol and Ta?on.”

(via The Daily Galaxy)

2 Comments

  1. Lets not forget the eating.

    I think the cetaceans have an open and shut case.

    Of course we’ll find out what happens 1.18.08 when Japan accidentally unleashes the Cloverfield monster from it’s deep sea drilling.

  2. Once a scientist was out at sea looking at the dolphins. A couple dolphins started talking, in English even! The scientist said ‘hey, I didn’t know you guys could talk!’ The dolphins were embarassed at giving away their secret. ‘Why didn’t you tell us humans you could talk?’ ‘Because then you’d make us get jobs, pay taxes, be religious, wear clothes… ‘

    It is okay to look after the welfare of non-humans without giving them human status.

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