©Yukon Govt

The Ross River Dena Council has declared the Finlayson caribou herd to be a “living ecological person with inherent rights”. The First Nation says those rights include the right to exist and thrive throughout its natural range; the right to ecological protection; the right to be free from destructive industrial activity; and the right to representation and legal protection. …The First Nation’s decision comes as Vancouver-based BMC Minerals has been working for years to open the Kudz Ze Kayah mine on RRDC’s traditional territory. …It’s not the first time a group has pushed for a natural entity to be recognized as having legal rights. …However, according to Stepan Wood, the Canada Research Chair in Law, Society and Sustainability, it would be the first time a group of animals receives the recognition. …he says the concept of an “ecological person” is a “novelty.”