In Historic Ruling, Pair Of Chimpanzees Recognized As ‘Legal Persons’

Source: www.commondreams.org | Original Post Date: April 21, 2015 –

For the first time in U.S. history, a judge has effectively recognized two chimpanzees as legal persons, in an order Monday which will allow a pair of research primates—Hercules and Leo—to seek relief from unlawful imprisonment.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe on Monday granted the chimps a writ of habeas corpus that will require Stony Brook University, where they are being kept for biomedical experiments, to appear in court and explain why the school has “unlawfully detained” Leo and Hercules. That hearing is set for May 6.

Jaffe’s decision comes in response to a petition filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP). Steven Wise, one of the lawyers on the case, told the Guardian after the ruling, “This is one step in a long, long struggle.”