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A unit in my college environmental ethics class studied the different ethics systems we follow in order to determine how we treat others. It focused on sentient verses non-sentient: the idea that some life, although not as intelligent as humanity, is still aware of itself (animal) and that other, while still alive, has no self-awareness (plant). The question of sentience was one factor used to determine what level of ethical treatment was appropriate for different members of the environment.
Up until now humans for the most part have lumped all animals into one category and treated them the same: humanely, with regulations on how they should be treated, but certain wild animals can still be hunted and other animals can be kept and used for amusement. Now the world’s largest science conference, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has cast that into doubt.
BBC News reports that the conference has submitted a resolution arguing that cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) are intelligent enough to merit a higher level of treatment than other animals. If the resolution is adopted worldwide, it would mean an end to both hunting these animals and keeping them for entertainment (think Sea World).
Examples of this intelligent behavior quoted by the BBC that would merit a sort of “personhood” or “individual” status for cetaceans included:
*A member of a group of orcas, or killer whales, in Patagonia had a damaged jaw and could not feed. The elderly whale was fed and kept alive by its companions.
*Dolphins taking part in an experiment had to press one of two levers to distinguish between sounds, some of which were very similar. By pressing a third lever, they were able to tell the researchers they wanted to “pass” on a particular test because it was too hard. “When you place dolphins in a situation like that they respond in exactly the same way humans do,” said Dr. Lori Marino. “They are accessing their own minds and thinking their own thoughts.”
*A number of captive dolphins were rewarded with fish in return for tidying up their tank. One of them ripped up a large paper bag, hid away the pieces, and presented them one at a time to get multiple rewards.
*In Iceland, killer whales and fishermen have been known to work together. The whales show the fishermen where to lay their nets, and in return are allowed to feed on part of the catch. Then they lead the fleet to the next fishing ground.
I really don’t see any country officially ratifying any agreement that would give this greater status to dolphins and whales. I sympathize with it a lot; I don’t like the thought of hunting except for food or conservation purposes and want it to be held to high moral standards (quick, clean kills only). I’m just not really sure where this would start.
After all, aren’t primates considered the second most intelligent species (after humans)? Why aren’t there rules about them? I know in most, if not all, places hunting primates is illegal, but they’re still sometimes used for testing and entertainment, if really only in movies instead of in amusement parks like dolphins.
Maybe there already is a similar resolution about primates, I just haven’t heard of it. If that’s so and a similar intelligence level can be proven for cetaceans then they should be treated in the same way.
Of course, I don’t see anything like this passing, but it raises interesting questions about animal intelligence and morality. What do you think: if an animal proves high levels of intelligence should it receive greater treatment?
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*(This image by Just Taken Pics is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
