Human Rights for Apes?

August 22, 2008

This week’s topic is a little, eh, heavy, so before we get into the question of whether apes should have some of the same rights now afforded to humans, here’s a picture of the Kiger household’s three resident canines. In case you’re wondering, the big strange-looking one is Madge. She’s a rare mix of Pit Bull and Basset Hound, a nascent breed of the sort that you’re unlikely to ever see trotting across the ring at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, a radical rule change notwithstanding. When she’s not using our living room couch for a trampoline, baying at imagined intruders or shredding important pieces of mail with her impressive set of teeth, Madge has a tendency to look at me soulfully with those big brown eyes, almost as if to say: “It’s hard to believe that, according to a 2005 study, the two of us have in common a mere 5 percent of our respective genome sequences.” To which I respond by sticking out my tongue and panting eagerly, which probably has a lot to do with why Victoria Stilwell has a TV show and I just write a blog.

If Madge were a chimpanzee, of course, it would be quite a different story. Another study, also published in 2005, sequenced a DNA sample from Clint, a male chimpanzee who died at age 24 from heart disease, and compared it with the human genetic blueprint. From a press release, here are their conclusions:

The consortium found that the chimp and human genomes are very similar and encode very similar proteins. The DNA sequence that can be directly compared between the two genomes is almost 99 percent identical. When DNA insertions and deletions are taken into account, humans and chimps still share 96 percent of their sequence. At the protein level, 29 percent of genes code for the same amino sequences in chimps and humans. In fact, the typical human protein has accumulated just one unique change since chimps and humans diverged from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago.

Chimpanzees’ genetic similarity to humans is so great that some scientists have proposed changing their scientific name to Homo troglodytes,and moving them to the same genus as the human species.

But the analogy goes further. Chimpanzees make and use stone and wood tools, and recently uncovered archaeological evidence suggests that they’ve been doing so for thousands of years. They have language, albeit in a more primitive form than humans, and can understand symbolic representations. They exhibit intricate, nuanced social behavior. At the same time, like humans, they also sometimes resort to violence to settle disputes, and groups in the wild actually engage in tactical warfare against potential interlopers from rival groups of chimpanzees.  And as this New Scientist video demonstrates, young chimps actually can outperform college students at certain memory tasks.

This inevitably leads to some awkward questions. If these apes are so much like us, how do we justify imprisoning them in zoo cages or worse yet, forcing them to be subjects in medical experiments for human benefit? 

A growing number of people around the world say that we can’t. Beyond that, they go so far as to argue that chimpanzees and other great apes, like humans, have certain unalienable rights. In 2007, animal rights activists petitioned an Austrian court on behalf of a 26-year-old chimpanzee named Matthew Hiasi Pan, who had been rescued from wildlife smugglers en route to a vivisection lab; they argued, ultimately unsuccessfully, that the ape should be considered a person under the law so that a legal guardian could be appointed for his protection. The European Court of Human Rights is considering their appeal. (Here’s an article from the Guardian, a U.K. newspaper, on the case.)

But if there’s a potential tipping point here, it may be in Spain, a nation whose affection for bullfighting  makes it an unlikely place for a radical paradigm shift in favor of animal rights. The Spanish Parliament is the verge of enacting the Declaration on Great Apes, a primate-rights manifesto written by philosophers Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri, as the law of the land.

"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," as one pro-ape activist told Reuters.

Indeed. The declaration isn’t exactly the equivalent of, say, the U.S. Bill of Rights — chimpanzees aren’t guaranteed freedom of speech, for example, or the right to own firearms. But they would be guaranteed the right not to be killed by humans, except in cases of self-defense, and the right not to be tortured or mistreated. Most important, apes could not be held in captivity in zoos, circuses or laboratories without review by a court. Those doing the confining would have to prove that it’s for the apes’ own good or to prevent danger to the community. Moreover,

In such cases, members of the community of equals must have the right to appeal, either directly or, if they lack the relevant capacity, through an advocate, to a judicial tribunal.

But clearly, there is plenty of vehement opposition to human-type rights for apes as well. As a recent USA Today article notes, some legal scholars warn that giving apes legal equality could create a slippery slope situation in which an animal’s rights might conflict with or even supersede those of a person. In a column for Newsmax.com, for example, 1950s pop singing sensation turned right wing ideologue Pat Boone fiercely ridiculed the notion:

… next thing you know, the flaky California Supreme Court, already declaring that marriage no longer has to be defined as a covenant between one man and one woman, may quickly grant that status with all its benefits to a man and his chimp, a woman and her ape, or — God forbid — two male gorillas!

Landlords and business owners, watch out! You may soon have no right to forbid occupancy or employment to simians, no matter your religious convictions, or even allergies. Many researchers believe the AIDS virus mutated and originated in a certain type of African monkey, so hospitals may have a lot more to worry about than staph infections.

In response, I must say that I’d rather listen to this collection of wild chimpanzee vocalizations than “Love Letters in the Sand” anytime. But what do you think? Should apes have rights? Express your opinion below.

Photo: iStockphoto

Comments

[Natural Man]

I think we should respect all living creatures, but especially the apes.

[Charlton Heston]

The way I see it, it's us or them!

[Mothra]

I think it makes sense to give apes these rights.

[Caffeine Driven Stress Magnet]

Will apes have any responsibilities to go with these rights?

[oscar]

I think we should give the apes rights.
They are intelligent beings and are very capable of doing many things.

[Pete Wong]

I am not against rights for apes, but the fact is that there are a lot of humans on this planet--including a billion Chinese--who don't have human rights. I believe we should concentrate on them first, before we consider extending rights to other species. In fact, guananteeing rights for all humans will promote the sort of thinking that will lead to humane treatment for animals.

[Daniel Klaisner]

Apes with rights? Well i agree that they are very intelligent, i also belive they have some sort of basic conciousness. When it comes to rights i dont think it makes much sesnse. What would they use it for? i guess if they were voting it wouldent have made a difference in the past election.

[Hanah]

I truly believe that we are able to teach apes, like we teach children, to live in the society we keep. Since they are almost as intelligent as the human race, then they have the capabilities to live like us. I say go for it, give our primate brothers some rights!

[Hanah]

I truly believe that we are able to teach apes, like we teach children, to live in the society we keep. Since they are almost as intelligent as the human race, then they have the capabilities to live like us. I say go for it, give our primate brothers some rights!

[Hanah]

I truly believe that we are able to teach apes, like we teach children, to live in the society we keep. Since they are almost as intelligent as the human race, then they have the capabilities to live like us. I say go for it, give our primate brothers some rights!

[Darnell]

I wonder where the presidential candidates stand on rights for apes?

[Shooter1001]

We should let them vote too, I suppose?
Aside from humane treatment, rights for animals is silly. I can see all the trial lawyers slobbering right now!
Because a primate can lure termites out of a mound don't make them eligible for 'rights'.
How about parrots? They can talk, can't they? I never heard a chimp recite the Pledge of Allegiance!

[Shooter1001]

We should let them vote too, I suppose?
Aside from humane treatment, rights for animals is silly. I can see all the trial lawyers slobbering right now!
Because a primate can lure termites out of a mound don't make them eligible for 'rights'.
How about parrots? They can talk, can't they? I never heard a chimp recite the Pledge of Allegiance!

[Shooter1001]

We should let them vote too, I suppose?
Aside from humane treatment, rights for animals is silly. I can see all the trial lawyers slobbering right now!
Because a primate can lure termites out of a mound don't make them eligible for 'rights'.
How about parrots? They can talk, can't they? I never heard a chimp recite the Pledge of Allegiance!

[Primate]

Well, can YOU lure termites out of a mound? Most people have to pay Orkin to do that.

[Treehugger]

Shooter is the one being silly. Parrots mimic sounds, while non-human primates have the ability to understand and use symbols. No one is suggesting that chimpanzees be given the right to vote. What we're talking about here is protection from abuse, and the opportunity to live in freedom.

[Corky]

This how it begins. The next thing you know, apes on horseback will be herding humans around and shooting at them with flintlock muskets.

[Shredders]

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[naheed]

i am not against animal rights, but there are so many human that doesn't have the rights to live. If they feel pain and fear so does human. Doesn’t that mean we should focus or attentions on humans. It seems like we are humanizing animals and dehumanizing humans

[ApeMonger]

The issue of human rights in China is a non issue as the rights of apes can be argued independantly, causing no damage whatsoever to human rights anywhere.

[Chris]

Seriously? Are you all for real? Has anyone seen Planet of the Apes? lol I don't think anyone wants to intentionally cause harm to apes, but come on ! Stay off drugs.

[Animal lover]

Actually, the great apes are in danger of extinction. They need protection.