Guest guest Posted April 16, 2000 Report Share Posted April 16, 2000 Here are a couple of articles on the breakthough: BBC News, Thursday, February 11, 1999 Published at 10:06 GMT http://www.bbc.co.uk > Apes in line for legal rights > > Our nearest relative: Should apes have rights to decent treatment? > > By Environment Correspondent Alex Kirby > > Campaigners who want four great ape species to be > given legal rights believe they may be on the verge of > victory. > > The four species are chimpanzees, bonobos (a pygmy > chimp), orangutans and gorillas. > > > A number of groups have been > campaigning under the banner of the > Great Ape Project (GAP) for all four to > be given what are sometimes called > human rights. > > GAP says it may soon achieve a breakthrough, if a new > animal welfare bill in New Zealand is drafted to include a > clause to do just that. > > The law would then make the great apes the first > non-human species to enjoy individual, fundamental > rights. > > Enforceable in law, they would include the right to life, > the right not to suffer cruel or degrading treatment, and > the right not to take part in most experiments. > > The bill could soon become law and could set a > precedent for other countries. > > GAP argues partly from the genetic similarities between > the great apes and human beings - chimps and humans > share 98.5% of their DNA. > > But it also says all four species have some " indicators of > humanhood " - intelligence, deep emotions, some > linguistic ability, and self-awareness. > > Shared path > > Dr Jane Goodall, renowned for her work with chimps in > Gombe national park in Tanzania, describes GAP as " a > good starting point " . > > > " The genetic similarity means we > have a special kinship with the great > apes, we share an evolutionary path. > > " The crucial thing when we are > wanting to give rights to non-human beings is - can > those beings feel? Are they sentient and are they > sapient? " > > > Dr Goodall says GAP is not > about human rights, but > about starting to extend to > other species " certain basic > rights that we extend to the > human family " . > > But GAP has its critics. > Some say that, because the > apes look like us, we cease > to be objective and start > seeing similarities where > none exist. > > Others believe GAP is exaggerating the supposed > similarities of the apes to stop their use in experiments. > Some of these counter arguments are featured in this > week's New Scientist. > > Great apes have never been used for research in New > Zealand itself and are no longer used in the UK. > > But about 1,700 chimps are kept for research in the US. > > Only a start > > GAP is also criticised for choosing what some see as an > arbitrary cut-off point - the differences between apes and > other animals. > > Why not give rights to monkeys as well, and to > elephants, dogs and every other creature down the line, > ask critics. > > > Dr Goodall adds: " One has to > make a start to break the > arrogant perception that most > people have that we are > totally different. " > > Many GAP supporters > accept that argument, not as > a criticism, but as the way > forward in what Dr Goodall > calls " extending the circle of > compassion, first of all to our > closest living relatives " . > > If you deny rights to apes, they argue, then logically you > should withhold them from mentally-disabled human > beings. > ------- Press Release Great Ape Project NZ 8/10/99 15:34:00 http://www.newsroom.co.nz > Historic Breakthrough For Great Apes > New Zealand's Parliament has created a world first by putting specific > protection for great apes, or non-human hominids, into legislation. > > In passing its new Animal Welfare Act on Thursday, the New Zealand > Parliament has prohibited research, testing, or teaching, involving the use > of a great ape, " unless such use is in the best interests of the non-human > hominid, or is in the interests of the species to which the non-human > hominid belongs " . > > " This requirement recognises the advanced cognitive and emotional > capacity of great apes. New Zealand is the first country in the world to > legislate in this way. This is a small but nevertheless important step " , said > New Zealand's Minister for Food and Fibre, John Luxton, who was > responsible for the passage of the bill through Parliament. > > Members of The Great Ape Project, New Zealand (GAP NZ), hailed this > ground-breaking protection for great apes. Nevertheless, the group said > that it would pursue a Private Members Bill after the election, to provide > protection of life for non-human hominids. > > " At present, " said GAP New Zealand spokesperson Barbara Leonard " even > though it is illegal to experiment on great apes, it is possible for zoos or > circuses to kill great apes whenever keeping them becomes inconvenient > to them. We must remove this real threat, and affirm that it is > fundamentally wrong to kill beings who are mentally on a par with > pre-school children. " > > The group is also going to encourage the next Government to introduce a > UN General Assembly Resolution to extend the NZ hominid protections > world-wide. > > The category of great apes includes chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and > orangutans. > Magda -- kmagda354 http://members.netscapeonline.co.uk/kmagda354 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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