Chimps and Other Animals Could Soon Have the Same Legal Rights as Children

Chimps, elephants, orcas and even African grey parrots may soon be eligible for non-human personhood status.

A judge’s ruling last month determined that two chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo, in New York were covered under the same laws that govern the detention of persons, essentially granting them the right to sue for their freedom. With human help, of course.

Though the order of ‘writ of habeas corpus‘ was later amended, the initial decision has spurred a serious movement to grant certain animals the right to be able to “self-determine, be self-aware, and be able to choose how to live their own lives, ” as Nonhuman Rights Project Founder and Massachusetts lawyer Steven Wise argues.

Legal activists and scientists are pushing for animals that possess reason, language and emotions – like despair, joy and fear – to be given legal status similar to that of children. Most importantly, such a ruling would mean animals under this designation could no longer be kept in zoos, labs, or as pets.

Seems pretty reasonable for species “somewhere between furniture and a person.”

Germany has already granted animals unparalleled rights and great apes of the Balearic Islands have been enjoying the privileges of personhood since 2007.

Canada has yet to engage the debate in any significant way, but Camille Labchuk, director of legal advocacy for the group Animal Justice, sees a glimmer of hope that the country will soon take on more daring arguments for the legal status of animals.

“I’m optimistic that the law here in Canada will get to the point that it recognizes animals, and especially certain kinds of animals, should be deserving of legal status,” she said in an interview with CBC.

“If we can do it for corporations” — which are persons under the law — “there’s no reason why a sentient living being can’t be considered a person.”

Leo and Hercules’ case will be back in court tomorrow, where New York Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe will have an opportunity to significantly advance the status of these chimps and, ultimately, similarly-abled animals.

New York currently allows pets to be the beneficiaries of trusts, so anything’s possible.