Indian government has banned all forms of use of dolphins and orcas for commercial entertainment
The Indian government has banned all forms of commercial entertainment involving dolphins and orcas. In an unprecedented move, cetaceans have been recognized as 'non-human persons', whose right to life and liberty mush be respected. The ruling comes after weeks of protest in India against the increasing number of dolphinariums there. Scientific evidence has proven that cetaceans have a level of self-awareness similar to humans, with close-knit family bonds, and that the confinement of these highly intelligent species in tanks is tantamount to torture. It is hoped that India's growing animal rights movement will breathe new life into the move to save the highly endangered Ganges River dolphin. India is only the fourth country to ban the capture and importation of cetaceans for commercial entertainment, after Costa Rica, Hungary and Chile.
Lorna Howarth, "Frontline: Cetacean Liberation," Resurgence &Ecologist, November/December 2013, no. 281: p5