The Legal Status of Whales: capabilities, entitlements and culture

Whales, among our planet’s most majestic, mysterious, powerful, and intelligent beings, are profoundly endangered. International law has for some time attempted to protect them from extinction. Our paper addresses the legal status of whales and argues that they should be regarded as creatures with r...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nussbaum Wichert, Rachel, Nussbaum, Martha C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Law
Online Access:https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=5456177
Source:Seqüência: estudos jurídicos e políticos, ISSN 2177-7055, Vol. 37, Nº. 72, 2016, pags. 19-40
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Summary: Whales, among our planet’s most majestic, mysterious, powerful, and intelligent beings, are profoundly endangered. International law has for some time attempted to protect them from extinction. Our paper addresses the legal status of whales and argues that they should be regarded as creatures with rights, not simply as commodities. Currently, international law does not recognize whales as creatures with rights. International organizations, particularly the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and its founding document, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), have focused on the issue of overfishing and have allowed exceptions to usual standards based both on the alleged needs of scientific research (in the case of Japan) and on the alleged claims of culture (in the case of aboriginal groups in the Arctic).