Hello, I’m part of the Nonhuman Rights Project. Several misconceptions here - most of all the title. We are NOT seeking “human rights” for other animals. Human rights are for humans. The question we raise is: What rights are appropriate for other animals who are self aware, cognitively complex and autonomous? In this case, we argue that chimpanzees have the right to bodily liberty - not to be kept in the conditions in which we found Tommy the chimpanzee - in a small cage in a dark, dank shed, all alone except for a TV.
Animal welfare and cruelty laws have not been able to address the fact that hundreds of chimpanzees live in conditions like this, “owned” by people who are able to keep them as personal possessions and pieces of property.
A “legal person” is a legal term that does not designate a human, but any entity that the legal system recognizes as having the capacity for legal rights. This applies, for example, to corporations and ships (and in India to Hindu gods and idols).
Once Tommy is recognized as being a legal person and not just a piece of property, the question shifts to one of what rights he should be entitled to. We say: the right to bodily liberty so he can be transferred to a sanctuary where he can live with others of his kind in an environment as close as possible to what he would have in his natural home.
