New Zealand's Maori King makes unprecedented appeal to protect whales

According to King Tahiti, whales should have the same rights as humans. He believes we can no longer turn a blind eye to their decline.

Kenji Tohitia Pootatau te Whoro Hero VII, the Maori king of New Zealand, is a king whose title is purely ceremonial and whose words are rare. It has been in the news since Thursday, March 28, after launching an unprecedented call to recognize that whales have the same right as humans – to live in a healthy environment – in order to restore their threatened numbers. Moreover, New Zealand, which the indigenous Maori call Aotearoa, meaning the country of the long white cloud, is a pioneer in recognizing the rights of nature. Nothing could be more natural for the Maori who, in the landscape, see not only trees and stones, but gods, heroes and ancestors.

This is undoubtedly why New Zealand is today the only country in the world that has recognized a river and a mountain, Mount Taranaki, as legal persons, as living entities, which now protects them from development projects that could harm them. A mountain and river that the Maori consider to be their ancestors. “Our ancestors had their song weakened and their homeland threatened.”The king insisted on Thursday's greeting before calling for immediate action for the whales.

King represents 17% of New Zealand's population

The last time King Tuhaiyat was talked about was in 2014. At the time, Prince William and Duchess Kate were touring New Zealand and asked to meet him, but He rejected their proposal Because they only offered him 90 minutes face to face. A strange relationship with time for the Maori who walk slowly in the morning, and not very quickly in the evening. His refusal then shocked England greatly, and even much further, as many tabloids around the world reported on this “affair”.

Let's hope his call for whale rights creates as much buzz as this story. Because even though he has no legal power, he still represents the 17% of New Zealand's population who, like him, believe we can no longer turn a blind eye to declining whale numbers. A retreat that upsets the delicate balance of all life on Te Moana, the sea, and afterlife on land. the earth, “This mother who never dies”according to the Maori proverb, but he's still not feeling very well and it's time to cuddle up.