Spain considers 'human rights' for great apes

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Spain considers ‘human rights’ for great apes

 

THE TIMES OF INDIA 28Apr, 2006

International>

 

Spain considers 'human rights' for great apes

 

Madrid: Spain’s governing Socialist Party is promoting a controversial

parliamentary initiative to grant rights to great apes on the basis of their

resemblance to humans.

If the initiative is approved, it would make Spain one of the first countries

to officially protect the rights of apes, said a spokeswoman for the animal

rights association ADDA. The socialists want to prohibit the “enslaving’’ of

gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutangs and bonobos.

Spain would thus adhere to the international Great Ape Project, granting the

animals the rights to life, freedom and protect them from being tortured.

“We are not talking about granting human rights to great apes (but about)

protecting their habitat, avoiding their ill-treatment and their use in various

circus activities,’’ environment minister Cristina Narbona explained. Great apes

are kept in small cages in Spanish zoos and circuses, reports said. They may be

castrated, and their vocal cords are sometimes cut to keep quiet, because they

can be very noisy. DPA