What is personhood? What is a person? Who deserves to bear those titles? It’s an argument that is fought for several years.
If you follow other NAPSA sanctuaries online, then you might be familiar with some cases that have taken place that paved the way for certain individuals to call a sanctuary home. There’s Sandra at Center for Great Apes, who in 2019 was granted rights as a “non-human person” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In that case, the judge granted the basic rights of life, freedom, and a premise of “no harm” either physically or psychologically to Sandra and soon thereafter she made the trip to Florida.
Unlike Sandra, Leo and Hercules didn’t win their case to have habeas corpus granted to them, though they did make their way to Project Chimps afterward. In the United States, the fight to grant chimpanzees (or any species really) rights as a living being is a tougher fight. What seems to be the main sticking points are; does a “person” mean “human” and does a “thing” mean “everything else other than human whether it be living or inanimate?”
The reason this came to my mind is because there was a hearing in Michigan today about this very topic. There are currently seven chimpanzees who live at DeYoung Family Zoo. Animal rights organizations have been pleading their case to have these seven be transferred to an accredited sanctuary (Note: I just want to make it clear I am not talking about us.). The route they have chosen is to take the case of non-human animal personhood to court. The ruling on this hearing is still pending as I am writing.
In the U.S., there are two legal categories that fall under the law: persons and things. In a sense, this particular fight is if chimpanzees are persons or things. There is a great reference book called “Chimpanzee Rights: A Philosophers’ Brief,” which dives pretty deep into this argument. If you would like to read more about it, I would recommend that book. It breaks down the arguments for and against for considering chimpanzees as persons in a language I wouldn’t ever to be able give justice.
I am by no means an expert on this case and don’t know the full, complete details regarding those chimpanzees and their situation. But I know in my heart of hearts, chimpanzees are more than mere “things.” They are not simply property that can be sold or traded. They are smart. They are curious. They are complex. And yes, they also can be goofy. They can make their own choices and their own decisions in a way that mirrors humans. They can send signals, whether it be vocal, gestural, or just simply body posture, and reversely, they can receive those signals as well, even from us humans. They are brave. They are fearful. They are confident. They are anxious. They may not be human, but they are people.
Now, for what I’m sure most of you came here for: photos from the day!
