South Korea Could Grant Bottlenose Dolphins off Jeju Island ‘Legal Personhood’ Status to Better Protect Them

South Korea Could Grant Bottlenose Dolphins off Jeju Island ‘Legal Personhood’ Status to Better Protect Them

Bottlenose dolphins living off the coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island are threatened by boats, discarded fishing gear, construction noise, pollution and runoff from fish farms. But a group of the country’s environmentalists and experts are campaigning for the dolphins to be given “legal personhood” status to better protect them. It is the first attempt by Korea to give an animal the status, and is part of an expanding movement to recognize the l…