The Dolphin Rights Code ~ A Possibility?.
What constitutes a person? There is a multitude of answers. Is a dolphin a person? There's only one answer; no. Because of this conclusion, I don't believe that dolphins should have the same rights as humans. Although many people may argue that dolphins have a sense of self and that constitutes personhood, I wouldn't agree because there are many other factors that constitute personhood. To be categorized as a person, an entity must not only be self-aware but must be fully aware of its surroundings and must have the ability to learn, not simply memorize. The human brain actually computes information and uses problem solving skills, there's no proof that any other species on this planet could do the same.
Even if dolphins did have these same qualities, do they really deserve to have rights? I don't think that they have played an active role in our societal development. The human civilization has evolved to what it is today as an effect to millennia's of hardship. Dolphins merely watched this happen, what credit do we owe to them by bestowing rights upon them? Just because dolphins happen to be a little more intelligent then other animals, they are still very far from the mental capacity of humans. The door swings both ways; there are many humans who could probably be easily outsmarted by a dolphin, but how come no one argues that the dim-witted individual isn't a person and should not have rights?.
Even if we give dolphins rights, would they realize the difference? I think not. What's the point then? When you do someone a favour and they don't even thank you or at least acknowledge that a change has been made, it doesn't feel very good. If dolphins really required the rights, they would have figured out a way to tell us that. They are after all very intelligent animals right? Although there are many arguments that will attempt to convince me otherwise, I think that the people who wrote those are very naive and have too much time on their hands.