Cartridge Monkey

Judge denies chimpanzee a legal guardian

Wednesday 02 May, 2007

A judge in Austria has ruled against awarding a chimpanzee a human legal guardian, it has emerged.

The request was denied on April 24th by the Austrian judge on the grounds that it could lead members of the public to consider that animals with legal guardians possess the same status as humans, reports Nature.com.

Both apes and humans belong to the Hominoidea family of primates.

However, those in favour of the legal status have vowed to appeal, in an effort to grant "basic human rights to apes" and prevent them from being owned and sold.

"Hiasl, [the monkey denied a human legal guardian] is now dependent on the goodwill of others," said Martin Balluch, president of the Association Against Animal Factories.

"If he were still in the west African jungle, he would not need money," he added.

Indeed, in Spain a law is being promoted to grant apes a number of human rights; however, a parliamentary vote is still outstanding.

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Judge denies chimpanzee a legal guardian

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