"Needless to say, unlike human beings, chimpanzees cannot bear any legal duties, submit to societal responsibilities or be held legally accountable for their actions. In our view, it is this incapability to bear any legal responsibilities and societal duties that renders it inappropriate to confer upon chimpanzees the legal rights — such as the fundamental right to liberty protected by the writ of habeas corpus — that have been afforded to human beings."
19 comments:
There is more to this than one would think. If the courts had ruled otherwise the floodgates would be open to lawsuits from animal rights groups trying to force all Americans to become vegan by banning all consumption of meat and fish via unelected courts under the presumption that animals and fish have the same rights as people and "killing" them would be illegal.. You think I'm kidding? It would follow as night does from day..
If you dumb down the definition of humanity enough, you can include more species under equal rights. Isn't that the goal here?
@Virgil: As you know, most lefties are loathe to concede the notion of legal precedent. They don't understand how that all works.
OTOH, maybe they do know how the system works.
Thus the conundrum of calling the opposition both idiots and savants.
An interesting case...
Should chimps have the right to be free of human control?
I have no answer to that one.
The decision is not coherent.because human children cannot bear any legal duties, submit to societal responsibilities nor be legally accountable for their action either.
The statement must be expanded to include potential.
It is incomplete.
But I like it, I like it, yeah yeah yeah.
As someone who has spent considerable time with animals, from horses, to dogs, to wolves and other apex predators, I have to say that I respect them and in some cases, they respects us...e.g., wolves evolving in to dogs. I often wonder who made the first move, man or the wolf. I favor the wolf. Never the less I have not lost site of the essential place in nature for predation and for livestock husbandry. It is part of nature just as we are...you can respect a species without giving it the right to vote, eh?
IN addition, I am always amused by the "no dairy" hustlers. Among the most renewable of resources, they don't like it? How odd.
In 1947 Heinlein published "Jerry Was a Man" about a genetically modified chimp fighting for legal status. Not as outrageous an idea as it once was.
Scientists like to torture these poor creatures. Big government grant money to study behavior, (silly things we don't need to know) etc...
So - I disagree with the decision.
Good points, Chip.
I respectfully disagree that the vegan lobby holds that much sway over our eating habits. We slaughter 700,000 cattle a week to feed ourselves. That's not going to change. People eat meat.
I'm a dedicated lunatic animal lover, and I eat meat.
If the chimp was here illegally, he'd have rights that all Americans have.
This will be overturned in Taylor v Cornelius, Ape City Supreme Court, 3978, known as the "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape" case.
The sad part of this is that the resources needed to take this case to an appeals court and now to the state Supreme Court could be used to do good work in the fight against animal abuse instead of this absurdity.
Unless, of course, the lawyers were working pro... pro... pro bonobo.
Also, "Banana Republic" -- make your own jokes.
AllenS LOL
BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!!!
Whew! Close one there. I thought the Dems were gonna get a whole new voting block.
Imagine the panderng:
"Free bananas!"
and
"The right to fling poo is a civil rights issue."
"Just because a girl chooses to show off her bright red ass does not give you the right to assume she wants sex!"
So in this regard it is up to us to protect these precious creatures. They are worthy beings of our protection and we need to step up and see to it that they are taken care of. However, as to flies and ants? Only the nuclear option is viable. Thank you.
What would they do to us if the tables were turned. I suspect that we are typical life forms at our worst and quite lovingly atypical at our best. Humans are good animals. I should know - I have kept a few in captivity. Although I never have myself, I know people who breed them, and they seem to like having them around...mostly. Not especially intelligent, but easy to train.
And, not surprisingly, AllenS and Bagoh20 take the thread win!
PS: Bagoh20...that remark at 1:01 AM today is one of your very best.
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