Quit monkeying around
An activist group in New York recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of four chimpanzees currently living in captivity in various locations around the state. The suit is asking the courts to realize that these complex animals deserve “the right to bodily liberty” as any human has. Steven M. Wise, founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project states, “When we go to court on behalf of the first chimpanzee plaintiffs, we’ll be asking judges to recognize, for the first time, that these cognitively complex, autonomous beings have the basic legal right to not be imprisoned”. The group will be taking the stand in court for chimps Tommy, Kiko, Hercules, and Leo who are being wrongfully caged by their owners. They state that this will be the first of many lawsuits across the country fighting for the rights of captive creatures.