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Dolphins deserve rights, scientists told
Dolphins and whales should be considered non-human “persons” with basic rights such as life, liberty and well-being, the world’s largest science conference heard in Vancouver.

“Science has shown us that cetaceans have most, if not all, the characteristics that humans have, including intelligence, self-awareness, autonomy and social complexity,” said Lori Marino, one of four scientists who presented the Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting on the weekend. “Their basic needs are very much like humans — to be able to stay alive, to not be confined, to make choices and travel, and perhaps foremost to engage in social interaction.” (Photos: AFP/Getty Images)