<
https://apnews.com/article/sea-turtles-panama-animal-rights-world-turtle-day-44cb77ff472ef99cbac7667bce51d38a>
"On a Panamanian beach long after dark, a group of undergraduate students dug
into the sand to excavate a sea turtle nest, their lamps casting a soft red
glow as they studied eggs, inventoried the success of the hatch and checked for
any surviving hatchlings stuck at the bottom of the nest. Nearby, armed members
of the National Border Service stood watch for protection in an area known for
drug trafficking.
The students worked under the guidance of Callie Veelenturf, who founded a
group that works to protect leatherback turtles and pushed for a new law in
Panama that guarantees sea turtles the legal right to live and have free
passage in a healthy environment.
The new law “will allow any Panamanian citizen to be the voice of sea turtles
and defend them legally,” Veelenturf said in a text message as she boarded a
plane to Panama City after her group’s work near Armila. “We will be able to
hold governments, corporations, and public citizens legally accountable for
violations of the rights of sea turtles.”
When Panama’s president signed the law in March, it was a victory for people
who have long argued that wild animals should have so-called rights of nature
that recognize their legal right to exist and to flourish, and allow for
lawsuits if those rights are violated. Experts hope it’s part of an evolution
that will see other countries take similar steps to protect species under
threat.
“Business as usual laws aren’t doing enough to protect against the extinction
crisis and climate change,” said Erica Lyman, a clinical law professor and
director of the Global Law Alliance for Animals and the Environment at Lewis &
Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. “This is an attempt at a new kind of
framing that offers hope.”
Wildlife protection laws typically are passed because of some perceived benefit
to humans, Lyman said. Panama’s law instead considers what sea turtles need and
the fact that humans should curb their behavior to meet those needs, she said."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-homicide-education-sierra-leone-solar-china/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
