Debate Over Chimpanzee Rights Reaches Michigan Supreme Court
The rights of chimpanzees held in captivity have sparked a significant legal debate in Michigan, where an animal rights group is urging the state’s Supreme Court to consider whether these animals deserve constitutional safeguards against unjust confinement.
The Nonhuman Rights Project, based in Washington D.C., is at the forefront of this legal battle, advocating for the recognition of habeas corpus rights for chimpanzees at the DeYoung Family Zoo in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The organization argues that due to their high intelligence, self-awareness, and genetic similarity to humans, chimpanzees should be granted such legal protections.
According to a recently filed application, the organization states, “So far, they have been denied the possibility of freedom based on one immutable fact about their biology: they are not human—although they share close to 99% of our DNA. Whether this arbitrary denial of liberty is tolerable under Michigan common law now confronts this Court.”
Previously, the Michigan Court of Appeals concluded in October that these chimpanzees do not qualify for constitutional rights as they are not human.
The core aim of the Nonhuman Rights Project is to facilitate the transfer of these chimpanzees to a sanctuary that more closely resembles their natural environment. Despite its efforts in Michigan and similar legal actions concerning chimpanzees and elephants in other states, the organization has yet to achieve a legal victory, with some cases still pending in court.
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