◎魏國金
Whales and dolphins should get "human rights" to life and liberty because of mounting evidence of their intelligence, a group of conservationists and experts in philosophy, law and ethics said.
由於越來越多證據顯示鯨豚擁有智能，因此牠們應獲得生命與自由的「人 權」，一群保育人士與哲學、法律及倫理學專家指出。
Participants at a University of Helsinki conference said ever more studies show the giant marine mammals have human-like self-awareness, an ability to communicate and organize complex societies, making them similar to some great apes.
出席赫爾辛基大 學一項會議的專家指出，更多的研究顯示這類大型海洋哺乳動物有人類般的自我意識，並具有溝通與組織複雜社會的能力，使牠們類似於某些巨猿。
"We affirm that all cetaceans as persons have the right to life, liberty and wellbeing," they said in a declaration after a two-day meeting led by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society（WDCS）.
「我們肯定所有的鯨類如同人 類一樣擁有生命權、自由權與獲得幸福的權利，」他們在鯨豚保育協會（WDCS）主導的兩天會議後，於宣言中指出。
Thomas White, director of the Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University in California, said dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror, an ability rare in mammals that humans only acquire at about 18 months of age.
加州羅耀拉馬利蒙特大學倫理與企業中心主任湯瑪斯．懷特說，海豚能 在鏡中認出自己，這在哺乳動物是罕有的能力，而人類要到約18個月大時才有此能力。
Hal Whitehead, a biology professor at Dalhousie University in Canada, said that sperm whales have sonars to find fish that are so powerful that they could permanently deafen others nearby if used at full blast. Yet the whales do not use sonars as weapons, showing what Whitehead called a human-like "sense of morality."
加拿大達爾豪斯大學生物學教授哈爾．懷德海指出，抹香鯨具有找出魚群的聲納，該聲納威力強大，若全力使用恐使附近其他 生物永久失聰。然而該鯨類並未將聲音當作武器使用，顯示其有懷德海所謂的類似人類的「道德感」。
新聞辭典
cetacean ：當名詞時，指鯨類；當形容詞時，指鯨類的，等同於cetaceous。
self-awareness︰名詞，自我意識、自覺。例句 ︰Sociology is today one of our major forms of self-awareness along with the novel, drama,etc.（現今，社會學已與小說、戲劇等，一同成為我們自覺的重要途徑之一。）
（at）full blast︰片語，全力地、全速地、大規模地。例句︰The cement plant is going full blast. （水泥廠正大力發展產能。）
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