Primates Get Protection

Spain is on the cusp of becoming the first country in the world to offer rights of personhood on a non-human species. The Spanish Parliament’s environmental committee recently voted in favor of a resolution, which has majority support, urging the government to comply with the Great Ape Project. Founded by philosophers Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri in 1993, the project’s goal is “to provide (great apes) with the right to life, the freedom of liberty and protection from torture.”

In addition to banning experiments on primates, the law would also prohibit the use of primates in circuses, and require drastic improvements for more than 300 apes currently living in zoos. Spain’s sea change could also have palpable benefits for primates around the world, raising the animal protection bar for other countries. Ultimately, Spain’s stand may be a crucial step towards stemming the international bushmeat trade and averting the extinction of wild apes.

Now, if Spain could just get to work on that whole bullfighting thing…