We Have Been Given the Power to Take so Much

I left Thursday's class absolutely disgusted.  I mean really, I had just watched a group of people stab and slaughter innocent animals.  My reflection of what I had just seen brought me back to the readings on Kant’s view of animal rights.  Relating Kant’s views on animal rights helps me understand human actions a bit better.  Kant’s distinction between humans, animals, and things is explained.  After reading and digesting his reasoning around the relationship between the three, I too believe that Kant’s view on animals may be taken more negatively than intended. 
So if Ric O’Berry presented Kant with the ethical dilemma in Taiji, I can hypothesize as to how Kant would approach it.  First of all, Kant would recognize that the dolphins and whales do have rights.  They have rights because they are organized beings with will and intrinsic purpose.(63)  The whales and dolphins do differ distinctly from humans though, because they do not have the ability to defy their instincts.  Kant would remind us that we have indirect obligations to these mammals because they are like us, and thus our treatment of them matters.
The section that resonates with me the most in Kant’s explanation deals with the repercussions of the inhumane treatment of animals on our civilization.  He warns, “cruelty to animals should be against the law, not only because it harms animals but also because it harms our humanity and makes us more likely to be cruel to humans (68).”  Think about it, if we cannot treat animals humanely, that behavior is more likely generalized to our behavior to each other.  Sound familiar?  The Holocaust, Colombine, other mass murders.  All are situations in which humans failed to see themselves as equal to another.  The result?  Death.  So looking at what’s happening in Taiji I get very hesitant.  If a group of Japanese fishermen can murder thousands of dolphins and whales a year without hesitation, what else is going on in other parts of the world that we do not know about?  As humans, we are instilled with a sort of intrinsic power over that of other species.  But with great power comes great responsibilty.  We have an obligation to reason for those animals who can't, speak up for those without voices, and protect those in vulnerable positions - not to kill them just because we can.   

Also, here is a clip from an article I found that talks about the suspension of the dolphin slaughter in Taiji.  They didn’t say they were stopping the dolphin wrangling altogether but they were going to release the dolphins that were not chosen for captivity.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6530785