First case by the Nonhuman Rights Project!

The following piece was written as an Op-Ed submission to the New York Times.

On December 2nd, a suit was filed in a New York court that questions the personhood of a chimpanzee.

This may sound strange. At first consideration, the personhood of a chimpanzee seems contradictory because the English language usually uses the words “person” and “human” interchangeably. However, the legal ramifications of personhood are an entirely different matter…and not contingent on species membership (at least not by definition).

Currently, chimpanzees are considered legal objects to be owned by humans. Defining a living being as a legal person entails certain rights of bodily integrity and freedom from captivity. Such rights are surprisingly not yet granted to chimpanzees in the United States, despite decades of research that have shown these beings are so much more than complacent breathing bits of fur and bone.

Chimpanzee behavior reflects emotions like sadness and happiness, trepidation and affiliation. They can use sign language to communicate their desires and thoughts to those surrounding them, and they naturally teach life skills to their infants. Chimpanzees understand abstract concepts like working in a group towards a common goal, empathy towards others, and anticipation over time…which makes their lives in captivity seem that much more cruel.

They not only can suffer, but they do suffer when living in captivity. A normally sociable, inquisitive mammal will be distressed when kept in a cage without stimulation. This prohibits the expression of their natural behaviors. Mental disease and both physical wasting and morbid obesity plagues those chimpanzees unfortunate enough to spend their years in a cage. Travis the chimpanzee’s 2009 attack of a woman in Stamford is proof of what happens when a strong, intelligent animal is forced to live a life unnatural to their species.

Humanity’s treatment of the other animals on this earth, and specifically the great apes, has evolved over time. Various states throughout the country are banning the ownership of chimpanzees as pets. Just this year, the National Institutes of Health has quit funding the majority of chimpanzee research. With every endangered species protection written into law, and each time letters of complaint are mailed to protest against using ape actors on television, humans are speaking on behalf of those who can’t.

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) filed this week’s first suit on behalf of Tommy, a chimpanzee living in a dark cage in a trailer lot in Gloversville, New York. Two more suits are planned for filing later this week, in the hopes the additional three chimpanzees living in New York state may have their freedoms granted. The group is determined to help these four captive New York chimpanzees and ensure for them a brighter future.

At least 95% of our genetic material is identical to that of chimpanzees. Yet our brains have evolved, granting humans the capacity for higher thought and ethical consideration. This power is being put to great use on behalf of our closest biological relative, the chimpanzee.

Let’s start with Tommy and take it from there.

For more information on Tommy's case, and the others planned, please click here.