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A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, widely considered one of the most liberal and activist in the country, said it saw no reason why animals should not be allowed to sue but said they had not yet been granted that right.
"If Congress and the President intended to take the extraordinary step of authorizing animals as well as people and legal entities to sue they could and should have said so plainly," Judge William A. Fletcher wrote in an 18-page opinion for the panel.
The lawsuit was brought against Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on behalf The Cetacean Community -- defined as the world's whales, porpoises and dolphins -- by their self-appointed lawyer, marine mammal activist Lanny Sinkin.
Sinkin claimed in the lawsuit that the U.S. Navy had violated the Endangered Species Act with its use of long range, low frequency sonar that can cause tissue damage and other injuries to marine mammals.
Sinkin could not be reached for comment on the 9th Circuit's decision, which upheld a lower court ruling.
I wonder if this is the same Lanny Sinkin that 'made his bones' as a environmental whacko in San Antonio some years ago.
I believe his cause then was some snail darters (minnows) that lived in some hill country springs (whenever they didn't run dry)...[Cost: 5 billion to citizens in water rights about access to underground acquafir]
Or maybe it was the endangered species of spiders that lived in some caves...? [Cost: untold and incalcuable since it made some of the most desirable land around San Antonio for development off-limits]
So many species, so little time.