Orangutan in Argentina zoo recognised by court as 'non-human person'

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Orangutan in Argentina zoo recognised by court as 'non-human person'

Reuters in Buenos Aires
theguardian.com, Sunday 21 December 2014 21.56 GMT

An orangutan held in an Argentinian zoo can be freed and transferred to a sanctuary after a court recognised the ape as a “non-human person” unlawfully deprived of its freedom, local media reported on Sunday.

Animal rights campaigners filed a habeas corpus petition – a document more typically used to challenge the legality of a person’s detention or imprisonment – in November on behalf of Sandra, a 29-year-old Sumatran orangutan at the Buenos Aires zoo.

In a landmark ruling that could pave the way for more lawsuits, the Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights (Afada) argued the ape had sufficient cognitive functions and should not be treated as an object.

The court agreed Sandra, born into captivity in Germany before being transferred to Argentina two decades ago, deserved the basic rights of a “non-human person”.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/21/orangutan-argentina-zoo-recognised-court-non-human-person

[Bigmack]

1. Excellent

I really respect this! Ms Bigmack

[Posteritatis]

2. Glad to see more of these rulings happening

If I remember correctly India recognizes some species of dolphins as NHPs, and I know there's a bunch of other cases in progress right now.

[Turbineguy]

3. Great idea

Is this orangutan a republican by any chance?

Or are they another species of NHP?

[Just for Fun]

4. That's a subclass of NHP

as in PHP - Primitive Human Person

and they should not be allowed to cast a vote, EVER....

[LiberalElite]

5. Meanwhile, back in the States... (New York to be precise)

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/chimps-dont-have-same-rights-humans-ny-court-n261666

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

6. It's a start.

I'm thinking 'non-human persons' need to include the larger primates, cetaceans, and maybe even elephants to give them better legal protections against human persons.