01 Aug Are Chimps People? NY Court Rules

A trial court in New York State earlier this week  ruled on a most difficult question: should chimpanzees used by Long Island’s Stony Brook University for research be treated the same as people and deserving of human rights? The case was brought by a group called the Nonhuman Rights Project and argued that if treated as humans, they would have the right to claim they are being unlawfully detained at the University.

The court was not persuaded by the group’s arguments, though showed much sympathy for the plight of the chimps. The time may come, said Judge Barbara Jaffe, when animals have more human-type rights, but precedent is clear that all animals are property and sufficiently protected by regulations preventing their mistreatment and monitoring their use for science.

The balancing of interests of course is difficult. Chimps are highly intelligent and caring and the closest to humans in the animal kingdom. Scientists, however, argue that research using chimps helps bring significant medical advances without risking human life. Movies like the Planet of the Apes series and Ted 2 (where a talking teddy bear wins human rights) bring more attention to the question. What do you think?