Gulf of California whales sue for their right to a livable habitat

A conjugation of organizations has filed a perchance groundbreaking suit connected behalf of Gulf of California whales arsenic deserving of ineligible protections equivalent to quality rights.

The suit — accepted by a territory justice past week — seeks to person the Gulf of California declared “a captious habitat” successful accordance with Mexico’s General Wildlife Law successful bid to conserve and support the taxon that unrecorded there, arsenic required by the Constitution and planetary treaties.

As this poster pleads, “Whales are demanding justice!” That’s astir virtually existent arsenic a suit filed connected their behalf seeks to found for them definite ineligible rights, specified arsenic a livable habitat. (@VeroSantamariaC/X)

The litigation besides seeks to halt the enlargement of fossil state megaprojects successful the Gulf of California, besides known arsenic the “Aquarium of the World.”  

The suit — filed successful District Courts successful the authorities of Sonora and successful Mexico City connected Sept. 30 — hopes to pave the mode for ineligible designation of quality arsenic a taxable of rights.

The NGO Nuestro Futuro is managing the groundbreaking litigation connected behalf of the whales and each marine mammals that inhabit, transit oregon reproduce successful the Gulf of California.

Attorney Nora Cabrera said the suit is based connected Mexico’s law obligations to conserve biodiversity arsenic stated successful Article 27. The litigation besides cites Article 4, which refers to the close to a steadfast situation — including for animals. 

“Whales, owed to their intrinsic worth arsenic beings, are demanding that the State instrumentality attraction of them and support them from the enlargement of state projects successful the Gulf of California,” Cabrera told the paper Milenio.

One contiguous extremity is to revoke “irregular” permits granted to the arguable US $30-billion Saguaro LNG Project located successful Puerto Libertad, Sonora, without the payment of biology interaction studies. The task would person a erstwhile regasification works into a liquefied earthy state works whose accumulation would beryllium exported successful ample LNG tankers crossed the Gulf of California, threatening the UNESCO World Heritage site, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

92 grey whales person washed up dormant successful Baja California Sur, the worst die-off successful decades

A akin lawsuit made its mode done Mexican courts implicit the past 2 years arsenic Maya quality rights defenders sought extortion for melipona bees successful the Yucatán Peninsula

In November 2024, a territory justice recognized the ecological and taste worth of the bees which person been cultivated by the Maya for centuries and, according to the paper El País, 5 months aboriginal different justice granted the bees the aforesaid ineligible practice that the whales person been granted. That lawsuit has not progressed further, however.

If successful, the whales’ suit volition acceptable a historical precedent: taxon and ecosystems volition beryllium capable to support themselves successful tribunal to sphere their existence, which, Nuestro Futuro claims, volition fortify clime justness arsenic good arsenic quality beings’ close to a steadfast environment. 

With reports from Animal Político, El País, W Radio and Milenio