There is a initiative to bestow basic rights on the Southern Resident Killer Whales, who are endangered and not doing very well. The idea is that until something is given rights under the law (poor people, woman, black people) it is almost impossible to protect them properly or to ensure their protection.
Although it is an unconventional and poorly understood initiative it is not the first time something like this has been tried. Most famously is the recognition of rights for a river in New Zealand, which has helped to clean up and protect it. We could sorely use the same thing for the Great Lakes - which the Americans continue to pillage and pollute.
For the Killer Whales the idea would be to protect and enforce their right to the Sockeye in the Salish Sea. This is the most important of their food sources and the one the commercial fishers are out competing them for. Also it would help protect them from harassment by recreational boaters who routinely ignore the laws about approaching them. It would recognize their basic right to the basic things they need in order to survive.
There is a increasing feeling that this species is doomed and that we are too late. It is a devastating realization because if we cannot save this most admired and loved and appreciated of species what hope is there for any thing else?
Although it is an unconventional and poorly understood initiative it is not the first time something like this has been tried. Most famously is the recognition of rights for a river in New Zealand, which has helped to clean up and protect it. We could sorely use the same thing for the Great Lakes - which the Americans continue to pillage and pollute.
For the Killer Whales the idea would be to protect and enforce their right to the Sockeye in the Salish Sea. This is the most important of their food sources and the one the commercial fishers are out competing them for. Also it would help protect them from harassment by recreational boaters who routinely ignore the laws about approaching them. It would recognize their basic right to the basic things they need in order to survive.
There is a increasing feeling that this species is doomed and that we are too late. It is a devastating realization because if we cannot save this most admired and loved and appreciated of species what hope is there for any thing else?
