Spain Proposes To Extend Human Rights To Apes

Spanish Parliament has voiced it's support for giving 'Human Rights' to Great Apes, the first time that any national legislation has been called for such rights for 'non humans'.

Great Apes rights to life and freedom was proposed by scentists and philosophers who say that our closest genetic relatives need protective rights hitherto limited to humans.

Philosophers Peter Singer and Paolo Cavalieri founded the Great Ape project in 1993, arguing that Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Orang Utans and Bonobos should enjoy the right to life, freedom and should not be tortured.

While there are no known cases of Apes being used in experiments or tortured there is currently no law to prevent that from happening, explained Pedro Pozas of The Great Apes Project.

Under the proposals keeping apes for circuses, advertising or film will be forbidden, while the 315 apes in Spanish zoos should expect their conditions to improve.