Animal Rights Group Pursues Legal Recognition for Chimpanzees in Michigan
An animal rights organization is seeking to elevate its legal battle to the Michigan Supreme Court after failing to secure a favorable ruling from lower courts concerning six chimpanzees housed at a zoo in the Upper Peninsula. The Michigan Court of Appeals recently declared that chimpanzees lack the same legal standing as humans.
The Nonhuman Rights Project remains optimistic about achieving a landmark ruling that would recognize chimpanzees as entitled to habeas corpus rights. “Chimpanzees are our closest living nonhuman relatives,” stated Jake Davis, an attorney for the Nonhuman Rights Project, during an interview with Michigan Public Radio. “We share almost, depending on who you ask, 99% of our DNA with chimps. Imagine if you woke up every single morning and you were confined to a cage and you had evolved to need fresh air and sunlight and you weren’t even guaranteed access to that on a daily basis.”
The group’s objective is to relocate the chimpanzees to a nature preserve that more closely resembles their natural environment. However, the appeals court’s three-judge panel unanimously found the argument lacking in merit, maintaining that the chimpanzees do not possess human-like legal status.
In the court’s opinion, Appeals Court Judge Matthew Ackerman wrote, “They are not ‘persons’ possessing the ‘personal liberty’ interest that habeas vindicates. They are not analogous to slaves or women — both categories comprised human beings recognized as ‘persons’ in our legal tradition.” He further explained, “Rather, the chimpanzees are animals, and as the common law authorities all make clear, animals—including wild animals, such as these chimpanzees — are treated as property.”
Ackerman also noted that any alteration to the common law standard would require intervention by the Michigan Supreme Court.
The chimpanzees in question are located at the privately operated DeYoung Family Zoo in Menominee County. The zoo has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.
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