Japanese court rules nature has no rights

A Japanese court yesterday threw out a lawsuit against a land reclamation project after taking a close look at the plaintiffs: they included mudskippers, fiddler crabs and endangered migratory birds.

The suit, filed by residents on behalf of animals living in Isahaya Bay wetlands in southern Japan, claimed the project was destroying the habitat.

Nagasaki District Court, however, ruled that nature itself has no rights under the law, and therefore could not act as plaintiffs in a lawsuit.