World Day For Captive Dolphins July 4th
It is in wonder and awe that we gaze at the great diversity of life on our planet. The seas are the heart's blood of the earth, the habitat of other species, endowed with other intelligences, that are self aware and demand ethical treatment by us, not least because cetaceans have knowingly saved human lives.
Anyone who has ever seen a whale or dolphin in the wild would undoubtedly state that the experience was magical and had an uplifting spiritual effect on him or her. Whales and dolphins have been celebrated in human art and folk tales for thousands of years. They live by movement we may never see or hear but this Charter deems that they are not mere resources and recognises they are unique beings, having intrinsic value, irrespective of their utilitarian value to humans. They are, in fact, other tribes or nations caught in the web of life.
Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Bestowing on the cetacean family considerations and rights thereby challenges the present threats to them. This Charter therefore is a great leap forward for the collective consciousness of humanity and proudly and unreservedly pronounces Cetacea have a right to their liberty and life.
Cetacea Defence thanks Sarah Chambers, Cara Sands, Elizabeth Turner and Pamela Kelly for reading the original draft and offering comments and suggestions, some of which have been incorporated into the text.