I thought that it was just folks in the United States that were loose a bolt or two . . .


Captive orangutan has human right to freedom, Argentine court rules

Reuters By Richard Lough
4 hours ago

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - An orangutan held in an Argentine zoo can be freed and transferred to a sanctuary after a court recognized the ape as a "non-human person" unlawfully deprived of its freedom, local media reported on Sunday.

Animal rights campaigners filed a habeas corpus petition - a document more typically used to challenge the legality of a person's detention or imprisonment - in November on behalf of Sandra, a 29-year-old Sumatran orangutan at the Buenos Aires zoo.

In a landmark ruling that could pave the way for more lawsuits, the Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) argued the ape had sufficient cognitive functions and should not be treated as an object.

The court agreed Sandra, born into captivity in Germany before being transferred to Argentina two decades ago, deserved the basic rights of a "non-human person."

"This opens the way not only for other Great Apes, but also for other sentient beings which are unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in zoos, circuses, water parks and scientific laboratories," the daily La Nacion newspaper quoted AFADA lawyer Paul Buompadre as saying.

Orangutan is a word from the Malay and Indonesian languages that means "forest man."

Sandra's case is not the first time activists have sought to use the habeas corpus writ to secure the release of wild animals from captivity.

A U.S. court this month tossed out a similar bid for the freedom of 'Tommy' the chimpanzee, privately owned in New York state, ruling the chimp was not a "person" entitled to the rights and protections afforded by habeas corpus.

In 2011, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a lawsuit against marine park operator SeaWorld, alleging five wild-captured orca whales were treated like slaves. A San Diego court dismissed the case.

The Buenos Aires zoo has 10 working days to seek an appeal.

A spokesman for the zoo declined to comment to Reuters. The zoo's head of biology, Adrian Sestelo, told La Nacion that orangutans were by nature calm, solitary animals which come together only to mate and care for their young.

"When you don't know the biology of a species, to unjustifiably claim it suffers abuse, is stressed or depressed, is to make one of man's most common mistakes, which is to humanize animal behavior," Sestelo told the daily.

I guess keeping my horses in a pasture is confining them without their consent.
Keeping my dogs in the house on my cay in my shop is just wrong.
Shame on me! Shame, Shame, Shame.

Releasing captivity raised apes into the wild should be considered cruelty to animals. Certainly most animals should have certain rights--not to be needlessly killed or tortured by man--but those "rights" would only be enforceable by punishing Humans who have violated them.

Welcome to the REAL WORLD of the 21st. Century.

At some point in the not too distant future, judges are simply going to have to start throwing such lawsuits out of their court.

Stop giving these lunatics a stage for their misguided/misinformed antics.

quote:

I thought that it was just folks in the United States that were loose a bolt or two . . .

It is a worldwide sickness I am afraid.

It is found where ever those who walk on two legs are found!

quote:

It is a worldwide sickness I am afraid.

It is found where ever those who walk on two legs are found!

For sure, Saeed.

My dogs wacht TV and slepp over my armchair i believe i humanized them too much......they steals cookies too ....yes even the killer dogos wacht tv and listen Serrat ,Julio Iglesias ,and another romantic singers..... perhaps in the future not too distant they will dance tango

Finally Shoot-A-Wad will have his freedom!!! For Joy!!!


Dutch

The other day I shot a groundhog that was digging a home around the foundation of the house. Am I guilty of violating his 'human' rights by depriving him of a place to live and his ability to draw breath? I don't know, but his buddy better not come back and begin excavating. I've discovered that a .270 Winchester at 25' makes for pretty good groundhog medicine.

I saw this article. Insane!

seems like the monkeys are in the wrong place

The sad part is that normal human beings have no more rights.

Animals have rights, birds have rights, queers have rights.

But us normal people are the ones who no longer have rights.

Saeed
We live in an upside-down world.

Darwin must be turning in his grave.

These efforts could be far better spent advocating for the rights of people killed by ISIS. These are people subjected to genocide, which I thought we, worldwide, condemned 70 years ago.

This is a monkey (I know it's an ape) who can't take care of itself. People are just weird.