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Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
A dolphin called Arnie with a shell

Dolphins catch fish using giant shell tools

In Shark Bay, Australia, two groups of dolphins have figured out how to use tools...
Common dolphins at surface

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We all have personalities, and between the work Christmas party and your family get-together, perhaps...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Holly. Image: Miray Campbell

Meet Holly, she’s an incredible orca leader

Let me tell you the story of an awe-inspiring orca with a fascinating family story...
Humpback whale. Image: Christopher Swann

A story about whales and humans

As well as working for WDC, I write books for young people. Stories; about the...
Risso's dolphin at surface

My lucky number – 13 years studying amazing Risso’s dolphins

Everything we learn about the Risso's dolphins off the coast of Scotland amazes us and...

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.