A 26-year old former circus chimp is fighting for its right
to remain outside the cage and released into a Florida primate sanctuary
against the New York High Courts. This groundbreaking case could indicate
chimpanzees as “legal persons.”
According to defending lawyer and Nonhuman Rights Project
President Steven Wise, Tommy is an autonomous creature who spends time watching
television and enjoying activities that he should freely have. However, local New
York law advises that all pets and animals be caged in the state.
Wise said that the case will prove that chimpanzees are “legal
persons,” but he made it clear that he was not fighting for Tommy’s human
rights. Instead, he made it clear that he was fighting for “chimpanzee rights.”
It may sound like a joke to you, but studies really show
that chimpanzees are closer to human behaviour and understanding. Wise is
trying to establish the fact that chimpanzees also deserve special rights, and Tommy
should be given his own autonomy in the manner he wants to live.
Many will think this is ridiculous, but I for one think that
it isn’t totally bonkers. In reality, humans didn’t have to restrict nature to
have himself dominate the entire world. He should have left nature alone, have
only taken what he could from his surroundings and let the rest live as free as
they should be.
But for now, we have this system, and most animals are
decimated because of this human system.
