One could be forgiven for wondering how it is that Spain, of all places, is on track to become the first country in the world to extend limited “human” rights to apes. Just a few days ago, after all, hordes of drunken, kerchiefed Spaniards were taunting a small herd of frightened bulls as they careered through the narrow streets of Pamplona. To say nothing of the national pastime of cheering from the stands as a few guys in tight pants kill the beasts one by one.
Dissonant though it may be, on June 26, the environmental committee of Spain’s lower house of parliament approved a resolution supporting the Great Ape Project, an organization and manifesto founded by ethicists Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri, which argues that three essential human rights — life, liberty and freedom from physical and psychological torture — should be extended to our closest hominid relatives. Joan Herrera, congressman for the Catalan Green Initiative party, justified the measure before parliament, saying that the primates “are capable of recognizing themselves, and have cognitive capabilities.”
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I’m kind of ambivalent about the implications of and reasons behind this legislation. Where do you draw the line in granting rights to non-human animals? Why didn’t Spain address bullfighting instead of primates? What do you think?
-Kitty Mowmow
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