June 10, 2006

SHOULDN'T THEY GET FULL WELFARE AND OLD AGE BENEFITS TOO?:

Spain ponders rights for all the great apes (David Rennie, June 10, 2006, LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH)

Spain could soon become the first country in the world to give chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and other great apes some of the fundamental rights granted to human beings with a law being proposed by members of the ruling Socialist coalition.

The law would eliminate the concept of "ownership" for great apes, instead placing them under the "moral guardianship" of the state, much as is the case for children in care, the severely handicapped and those in comas, said the lawmaker behind the project, Francisco Garrido.

Great apes held in Spanish zoos would be moved to state-built sanctuaries, unless there was a risk that moving them would harm their emotional welfare, he said.

The law would also make it a criminal offense to mistreat or kill a great ape, except in cases of self-defense or medical euthanasia.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 10, 2006 9:36 AM
Comments

Despite your optimistic cheerleading, the outcome is not certain, and the battle is not as lopsided as you think. (IMO, anyway)

If we lose the war for civilization, the Apes will get those benefits, and they will fund them either by selling aborted fetal tissue for 'research' or by euthanizing our parents.

I hope you are all having a nice weekend.

Posted by: Bruno at June 10, 2006 11:12 AM

All hell will break loose when pandas get abortion rights.

Posted by: RC at June 10, 2006 11:25 AM

Europe isn't civilized.

Posted by: oj at June 10, 2006 12:27 PM

--The law would eliminate the concept of "ownership" for great apes, instead placing them under the "moral guardianship" of the state, much as is the case for children in care, the severely handicapped and those in comas, said the lawmaker behind the project, Francisco Garrido.--

They're going to kill them, that's what Zeropeeans do.

Posted by: Sandy P at June 10, 2006 1:16 PM

"some of the fundamental rights granted to human beings" In the US, our human rights are inalienable, they are not granted by anyone, thus cannot be taken away.

Posted by: ic at June 10, 2006 4:20 PM

If we combine this with the transhumanists of a few posts back, we'll get transpongists.

Posted by: Joseph Hertzlinger at June 11, 2006 3:31 AM
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