Should dolphin/whale killers be prosecuted as murderers?

[Cetacea]

The brain on the right belongs to the bottle nose dolphin. Forty-percent larger than the human brain, with all of the additional brain mass occurring in the cerebral cortex, the area whose presence essentially separates man from the great apes. While man and the great apes share ninety-seven percent of their genes, it is the dolphin brain that most closely resembles the human brain.
But their impressive brains only tell part of the story, and the writers conclusion is based in part on recent findings that conclude that dolphins are at least second in intelligence to humans (the jury is still out as whether or not their intelligence rivals that of man).
Research into this matter has been tedious and largely unfunded. The communication and logistical barriers are enormous, and the government has shown little interest in investing in a Nasa-like program.

Link to "Dolphin Persons"
http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=1279

Full essay:

Thomas I. White argues that the sea is full of persons who are not humans



"...If we translate this general idea into a more specific list of criteria, we arrive at something like the idea that a person (1) is alive, (2) is aware, (3) feels positive and negative sensations, (4) has emotions, (5) has a sense of self, (6) controls its own behaviour, and (7) recognises other persons and treats them appropriately. A person also (8) has a variety of sophisticated cognitive abilities. It is capable of analytical, conceptual thought. A person can learn, retain and recall information. It can solve complex problems with analytical thought. And a person can communicate in a way that suggests thought.

How do dolphins match up against these criteria? Dolphins are animals, so they are obviously alive (1). Dolphins are also certainly aware of their external environments (2). Dolphins are universally placed high on the biological ladder, and the fact that they are aware of the external world and able to interact with it is apparent from the way they handle the demands of living in the ocean and from the simple fact that they can be so easily trained. There’s little doubt that their behaviour suggests a significant level of awareness.


From a philosophical perspective, the simplest way to talk about ethics is this. Judgements about the ethical character of actions ultimately are based on two principles: “do no harm” and “treat others appropriately”. In the first, we’re looking at the tangible results that come from an action; in the second, we’re looking at the character of the actions themselves. In order to be ethically acceptable, an action can violate neither principle. Humans claim that our actions towards each other must respect these principles because of the nature of who we are – specifically, the nature of the unique, individual consciousness that each of us possesses. However, if dolphins are “nonhuman persons”, that is, if dolphins have an analogous unique, individual consciousness, these same principles need to be observed in our dealings with them. Hence, it’s wrong to treat them as objects and property.

Dolphins are persons with an intrinsic worth and dignity.

Thomas I. White is the Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Business Ethics at Loyola Marymount University and the author of In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier (Wiley-Blackwell)