[Republics] Leaked Talxu Deal Draws Animal Rights Protests

Leaked Talxu Deal Draws Animal Rights Protests

Yaneeze Mekkoon - Thessian Daily

Dectraton, THESSIA - Vindeta Enterprises faces a public uproar following a leak of plans for the company to relocate a school of at least twenty talxu from Thessia to Nevos as part of a planned entertainment facility.

“We were surprised by this reaction, as this is really no big thing. A lot of people have talxu as pets, and the population is not endangered,” stated Vindeta Enterprises spokeswoman Mari T’Nasi. “Our theme park will be a state-of the-art facility, and everyone will be able to enjoy the talxu there.”

Animal rights activists protesting at Vindeta’s central office have a different view.

“The talxu is a very delicate species, and we have learned from past experience that it will not do well off Thessia,” said protester Oreen Hyseef. “The Reapers have taken a great toll on their population, and they are just beginning to reestablish their numbers. Vindeta is about to exploit a very intelligent and friendly species for spectacle and profit.”

Spokeswoman for the Talxu Wildlife Committee Ehre Loxanne went further with her accusations.

“Sources inside the company have told us that they plan to maintain a constant supply line for when their first shipment dies. And that shipment will die, if you just move them against their will and into a planetary environment they are not suited for. We demand a public vote on the ban of all trade with talxu, and their acknowledgment as a species with rights.”

Matriarchs at the demonstration are conversing with activist leaders, as the protests are expected to continue.

Talxu are a water-dwelling, air-breathing species native to Thessia. They are highly intelligent, and their friendly and social behavior have made them valued companions for the asari since the tribal ages. As they are highly adapted to Thessia’s Element Zero-rich environment, they are rarely encountered elsewhere.

I'm sure Vindeta isn't just launching into this blindly (although the allegation that they're expecting fatalities... maybe it's just my natural cheery optimism making me think a company wouldn't actually proceed on that basis, Goddess knows I ought to know better about the corporate mindset, living where I do), but it's not a matter of whether it's being done safely or not, it's a matter of whether it should be done at all. There have been efforts made to transplant talxu to other worlds with the best possible preparation and scientific backing, and they've fallen ill or died regardless. I just don't think making the effort - however careful - simply for the purposes of public entertainment is moral.

(I think you may have misunderstood the report with regard to the Matriarchs, incidentally. I'm not sure if there are any within Vindeta as a whole, but I haven't seen any speaking on behalf of the company in the news that's made it out here. The Matriarchs consulting with the demonstrators - the way I read it, at any rate - would be acting as mediators, not intervening on behalf of either 'side'.)

I hadn't realised the rights situation was so nebulous - I suppose it's one of those things we've left unspoken and taken for granted, perhaps that ought to change. You won't find me claiming to know where the line between 'sapient' and 'non-sapient' is, if such a clear distinction could ever be drawn, but talxu are definitely on the sapient side of the spectrum, however you want to define it.

I do wonder what Mr. Murtag Kirok would think of this.