Court in US mulls whether chimps have 'personhood'

Charity group argues animals with human qualities deserve basic rights

A New York state appeals court will decide in coming weeks whether chimpanzees are entitled to "legal personhood" in a case that could lead to expanded rights for animals such as gorillas, elephants and dolphins, according to the lawyer advocating for a 26-year-old chimp named Tommy.

Attorney Steven Wise argued before a five-member midlevel appeals court on Wednesday on behalf of Tommy, who lives alone in a cage in upstate Fulton County.

A trial-level judge has refused a request by Wise and his Nonhuman Rights Project to have Tommy released to join other chimps at a Florida sanctuary that imitates their natural habitat.

Law, science and history prove that chimps have characteristics like self-consciousness and empathy that "establish personhood" and the corresponding right to liberty, the animal charity group argued.

"It is important to note that we are not trying to give human rights to chimpanzees," the Nonhuman Rights Project said on its website.

"We are advocating for chimpanzee rights for chimpanzees, beginning with the fundamental legal right to bodily liberty."

Wise argued that animals with human qualities, such as chimps, deserve basic rights, including freedom from imprisonment.

He's also seeking the release of three other chimps in New York and said he plans similar cases in other states.

If he succeeds, he said, he will seek personhood for other species with human qualities, which he defines as self-determination and autonomy.

One of the judges said the state has laws to protect animals from mistreatment and suggested they might be a more appropriate avenue to ensure Tommy's welfare.

"What about the detention makes it unlawful?" asked Presiding Justice Karen Peters.

"Keeping a legal person in solitary confinement in a cage is unlawful," Wise replied.

The Nonhuman Rights Project said Tommy is being held captive in solitary confinement in a "small, dank, cement cage in a dark shed in temperatures (20 C) below his native land" in Africa.

"He is unable to do the things that are natural to chimpanzees. He cannot build a nest, socialize with others of his own kind, or forage for food," it said on its website.

The key question is whether a chimp is a person.

Richard Cupp, a professor at Pepperdine Law School who writes and speaks extensively about the legal and moral status of animals, said on Wednesday that granting legal personhood and rights to animals could unintentionally dilute the concept of human rights.

"We could see over time some of our most vulnerable humans losing out in a rights struggle if they're in direct competition with some particularly intelligent nonhuman animals," Cupp said.

"We could have the personhood paradigm weakened by extending it to animals."

Cupp, and several of the judges, noted that rights come with responsibilities.

"Human beings are the only species where most of us are capable of the responsibilities that go with rights," Cupp said.

Tommy's owner, Patrick Lavery of Gloversville, didn't appear in court or submit documents.

AP - AFP

(China Daily 10/10/2014 page10)