Court Denies Appeal For Chimpanzee To Have Basic Human Rights
Although an animal rights group is trying to get Tommy the Chimpanzee “legal personhood” rights, the top court in New York has denied hearing the appeal. Tommy the chimp lives all alone in a cage and the animal rights group thinks he should have ‘basic human rights.’ The judge of the Court of Appeals denied the hearing by the Nonhuman Rights project which is on behalf of Kiko and Tommy.
The lower courts also rejected the argument by the animal rights group that chimps have emotional and cognitive abilities proven by science. The animal rights organization thinks because chimps have these abilities that they should have basic human rights. However, their arguments have been rejected by both lower and higher courts. Last December, another court, this time a mid-level one, denied Tommy the chimp the legal rights of humans as well.
Do you think chimpanzees should have the same legal rights as humans do?
