New Zealand river 'must be treated like a person'

Legislation ends 140-year battle for Whanganui to be recognised as a Maori ancestor

Prince Harry on Whanganui River
Prince Harry takes a trip on the Whanganui River in 2015
(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty)

A river in New Zealand has been granted the same legal rights as a human being, ending the longest-running legal dispute in the country's history.

The Whanganui, which is the third-largest river in New Zealand, is now considered by the country's parliament to be legally inseparable from the Maori people who claim it as their home.

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