New film looks at the issue of whale and dolphin rights
By All Rights, a new documentary by US filmmaker Stan Minasian, is the first documentary to tackle the issue of whales’ and dolphins’ emerging rights: Rights to life, and to freedom.
It includes amazing footage, including a remarkable rescue of entangled sperm whales, where the whales wait patiently for rescuers to free them. It also contains interviews with key scientists and a renowned philosopher, exploring the case for rights.
“This isn’t a moral leap of faith. It’s an ethical inevitability,” says WDC’s Senior Biologist, Philippa Brakes. “This film is important because it explores an issue core to the philosophy of WDC and our supporters.”
George Osterkamp of CBS News, says: “It is hard to take your eyes off the screen. The photography is extraordinary, and the case for whale and dolphin rights is made calmly and clearly. It is the most reasoned and compelling argument for animal rights that I have seen.“
WDC urges everyone who cares about whales and dolphins to watch the film (available online for free until Feb 26th). Add your voice by signing the Declaration of rights for cetaceans: whales and dolphins.
Philippa, who leads WDC’s work on rights, furthers the argument:
Whales and dolphins are undoubtedly intelligent, sentient, individuals. Each with their own life story. As we start to regard them as a ‘who’ not a ‘what’, and learn about social structures, communication, how whales share information, and form unique cultures; inevitably we also challenge how we treat them. This film is not about giving human rights to whales and dolphins; it is about recognising whales and dolphins as smart individuals. It’s about no longer turning a blind eye, to their suffering, and to the realities that the science is shouting at us.
