Summary
In 2004, the “Cetacean Community” brought a suit against George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld for allowing the US Navy’s use of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active Sonar (SURTASS LFAS) during wartime or heightened threat conditions. The Cetaceans argued the SURTASS LFAS causes cetaceans tissue damage amongst other injuries. The court was asked to decide whether the world’s cetaceans have standing to bring suit in their own name under the Endangered Species Act.
The court found that the Cetaceans lacked standing to sue because “[i]f 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.”