Ape rights

last updated 8 January 2015

Madrid

Spain’s Socialist government last week introduced a measure to grant the equivalent of human rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos. The law would recognize great apes as “kinds of persons,” protect them from mistreatment, and prohibit their use in circuses and scientific experiments. “We need to break the barrier between the species,” said parliament member Francisco Garrido. Opponents, including the Catholic Church, said the proposal denigrated human beings. “Too much ‘progress’ becomes ridiculous,” said Archbishop Fernando Sebastian.