Photo: NOAA Fisheries
Two cities in the US state of Washington - Gig Harbor and Port Townsend - have proclaimed that the endangered Southern Resident Orca whales have legal rights. The whales face threats from pollution, boat traffic and decreases in Chinook salmon populations - their primary food source. Only 73 remain in the wild, down from nearly 100 in the mid-1990s. Kriss Kevorkian, the founder of Legal Rights for the Salish Sea, hopes the resolutions will inspire state recognition. The story of Tahlequah, who refused to abandon her stillborn calf in 2018, inspired Port Townsend residents and local organizations to propose that the city recognize the orcas as rights-bearing beings. While at least 39 countries and Indigenous nations have judicial rulings or some form of legislation recognizing the rights of nature, and legal systems around the world have increasingly recognized that animals have the capacity to experience feelings and sensations, the movement has been slower in the US although it began with a local ordinance in Pennsylvania in 2006.
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