Human !
Walking, talking chimpanzees may be TV comedy gold but now three courts in New York are being asked to recognize four chimps as “legal persons” with fundamental rights.
The move would allow the animals to be released into sanctuaries where they could live out the reminder of their days in freedom, says the Nonhuman Rights Project behind the initiative.
On Monday it petitioned a court in Fulton County Court, New York State, in the name of Tommy, a chimpanzee held captive in a cage at a used trailer lot in nearby Gloversville.
The challenge is based on the principle of habeas corpus, which the petitioners said was used in New York and allowed slaves to challenge their status and establish their right to freedom.
Under habeas corpus, a person being held captive can petition a judge to have the captors explain why they think they have the right to hold that person.
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