Dr. Lori Marino (vegan): Supporting Animal-people Advocacy through Scientific Research, Part 2 of 2

During her research, Dr. Marino became increasingly aware of the deep intelligence of our animal-friends, and the immense cruelty of keeping them in captivity. “I created the Kimmela Center for Scholar Advocacy because I wanted to combine science and advocacy. And we’ve created a new project at George Washington University, done that with Kathy Hessler, who is an animal legal scholar. And the project is called ‘Animal Law and Science.’”

For more than two decades, Dr. Marino has been working tirelessly to advocate for the rights of animal-people by sharing her scientific discoveries about their intelligence and awareness. Dr. Marino also served as one of the expert witnesses during the hearings for Canada’s ground-breaking Bill S-203, known as the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act. Dr. Marino is the founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project. “One is to create a sanctuary for orcas and beluga whales. But there’s another level. And the other level is to show an alternative to seeing dolphins jumping through hoops and giving people rides on their backs. There’s another way to relate to these animals.”

Dr. Marino and her team are currently completing plans for a sanctuary in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, Canada, and they hope to welcome their first formerly captive whale-person in 2024. “My vision, is to see major changes in how we relate to other animals. No factory farming, no use of other animals in unnecessary research, biomedical research, no animals kept on display for entertainment.”

Our most gracious Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) frequently reminds us animal-people are essential for our planet. “For example, the seal-people have conveyed that it is important for them to be allowed to stay on Earth – not for themselves, but so they can continue doing their job, which is to keep the Earth in balance with love. […] Because of humankind’s lack of love and kindness, animal-people like seal- and whale-people have been born to help fill in this missing void. And it is this love that is sustaining our planet and keeping it from destruction up to now. So, we should never ever kill these noble, gracious helpers of humankind and the planet.”