"A declaration recognizing whales as legal rights-holders is influencing legislation in New Zealand and sparking an international push to translate Indigenous customs into binding protections."

"In one of his final acts before his death in 2024, Māori King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero helped galvanize Pacific Indigenous leaders to sign a landmark declaration recognizing whales’ rights.

Now that effort could shape national law: New Zealand legislators this month introduced a bill grounded in the declaration, affirming whales’ rights to migrate, maintain natural behaviors and culture, and live in a healthy environment with damaged habitats restored.

The bill, introduced by a member of Parliament from the Green Party, Teanau Tuiono, ​​would recognize whales as legal persons, a status already held by corporations and other nonhuman entities. The legislation would require the government to consider whales’ rights when regulating activities that affect them and their habitats, including shipping, fishing, deep-sea mining and coastal development."

Katie Surma reports for Inside Climate News February 22, 2026. [2]