‘Treat dolphins like people’
Animal campaigners claim dolphins should be given human
rights
Dolphins, whales and porpoises are so similar to people that
they should be given the same rights, campaigners have said.
A range of experts have spoken at a science conference in Canada
about how advanced the creatures are and how we should be treating
them better.
According to some studies, the animals are much more
sophisticated than we used to think - and can even do things like
solve problems and understand language.
Lori Marino from Emory University in Georgia, USA, describes
whales and dolphins as "beings with a similar level of
intelligence, self-awareness and sensitivity to our own."
Because of this, she says, they should never be killed or
captured and kept in sea life centres.
A Declaration of Rights for the creatures says that they have
the right to life and should not be held in captivity or used to
provide entertainment for people. It calls for them to be treated
as "non-human persons".
The killing of whales, or whaling, is banned internationally but
some countries, like Japan, want the rules to be changed so that
they can start hunting them again.
Dolphins are hunted for their meat in some countries, and many
are captured so that people can see them in captivity.
Click here to try our dolphin
quiz.
Lesson ideas and
suggestions
Read and discuss lesson ideas on our Facebook page
Join our mailing list (Glow login
required)
‘Treat dolphins like people’
Did animals invent Twitter?
Social networking among animals like dolphins, whales and
primates, operates in the same way as among humans on Twitter and
Facebook, a scientist has claimed.
After studying social conventions of the animal kingdom for ten
years, Dr David Lusseau from the University of Aberdeen, has
concluded that animals from all species communicate in a similar
way - and that includes us.
We may have created social networking websites but Dr Lusseau's
work has shown that animals have always gathered information about
what is going on around them in the same way that we can instantly
share our thoughts and social business on sites like Twitter.
He said: "Social networks are the same across all species, and
whilst details of their structure may differ, some properties
remain the same whether we are looking at killer whales, spider
monkeys or indeed humans.
"For example the famous concept of six degrees of separation-
the idea that everyone is linked by common acquaintances to any
other person on Earth - holds true across the animal kingdom.
"Our studies into animal populations showed the "small world
effect" is prevalent in the animal kingdom.
"Also we see cliques form in different species of animals in the
same way as we ourselves experience in our day to day lives."
Dr Lusseau explained that the driving force behind the formation
of social networks in the animal kingdom is information gathering,
for example where food is, where predators are, or how strong you
are in comparison to other animals.
Dolphins, for example, have their own daily needs to fulfil,
like eating and resting. But they are also concerned with what they
should do next as a group. Some members of the group can climb
social ladders to become leaders simply by being more aware of what
is going on around them and using that information to guide the
timing of the group's activities.
Social networking websites, Dr Lusseau explains, allows humans
to do exactly the same thing, just on a larger scale. So instead of
interacting with people in our immediate surroundings we can share
information with people around the world at the touch of a
button.
Click here to try our dolphin
quiz.
Lesson ideas and
suggestions
Read and discuss lesson ideas on our Facebook page
Join our mailing list (Glow login
required)