Elephant follows monkey to legal personhood

Should animals have the same rights as humans? A legal crusade to redefine personhood is raising profound questions about the links between animal and human kingdoms. Happy the elephant is one of the star attractions at The Bronx Zoo. But since 2006, she has been kept alone, in a cramped space. The activists of the Nonhuman Rights ProjectAn animal rights organisation that aims to have at least some nonhuman animals declared persons. The nonprofit organisation has also filed habeas corpus petitions on behalf of chimpanzees, but they were rejected.  (NhRP) think that Happy should be freed. They say the best way to free her is to have a court declare her a personTo possess personhood is to hold certain rights and legal protections against cruel and unfair treatment.. Happy would not be the first non-human to gain rights. In 2007, the Balearic Islands passed the first law granting great apes personhood. Last year the UK government introduced a bill to formally recognise animals as sentientAble to perceive or feel things. beings. This represents a huge change. The way we treat nonhuman animals would be criminal if done to humans. We keep everything from pet goldfish to Bengal tigers in captivity. We kill cows for their milk, meat and skin. Our cruelty is based on the idea that animals do not think or feel as we do. But the more scientists discover about animals, the more like us they seem to be. Happy has recognised herself in a mirror. Octopuses can use tools to crack open prey. Hippos can identify each other’s voices. Crows can solve puzzles as well as five-year-old humans. The most intelligent animals have complex emotions. One expert, Jane Goodall, says: “You cannot share your life with a dog or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings.” Why should they not be people? Others disagree. To be a person means to take responsibility. There is still little evidence that animals can do this. If we want animals to have better lives, we should simply treat them better. Should animals have the same rights as humans? Monkey business Yes: Humanity has brought enormous distress to animals, sometimes for no better reason than our own entertainment. Granting animals human rights is the fastest way to atone for our history of cruelty. No: Animals might be more emotional and intelligent than we once thought. But they still fall far short of human capabilities. To simply make them equal is to paper over a world of differences. Or…? Rights, sentience, personhood: these are all terms created by humans, for humans. Instead of copying and pasting them onto animals, we should create new concepts more relevant to animal life. KeywordsNonhuman Rights Project - An animal rights organisation that aims to have at least some nonhuman animals declared persons. The nonprofit organisation has also filed habeas corpus petitions on behalf of chimpanzees, but they were rejected.