you damned dirty ape....er human?!?!

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-- you damned dirty ape....er human?!?!

Posted by jonze on May-23-2008 15:44:

you damned dirty ape....er human?!?!

CORe Version: EU Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear a case to determine if chimps are humans.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=11867

Austrian Chimpanzee launches appeal to gain formal legal status as a human being.

The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to a preliminary hearing to determine whether chimpanzees are entitled to the legal status and protections granted to human beings.

The action is being sponsored by the Association Against Animal Factories, an activist group based in Vienna. Eberhart Theuer, the group's legal advisor says, "This case is about the fundamental question: Who is the bearer of human rights? Who is a person according to the European Human Rights Charter?"

At the center of the case is Hiasl, a 26-year old chimpanzee now called Matthew by his keeper, Briton Paula Stibbe. Matthew currently shares a shelter with another chimpanzee named Rosi in the town of Voesendorf, outside of Austria. Their upkeep runs nearly $8,000 a month and the shelter recently filed for bankruptcy.

Donors have stepped in to offer assistance, but Stibbe says only official status as a human can permanently prevent Matthew from being transferred out of Austria. That status would force the state to appoint a guardian to look after his status, and presumably also entitle him to government assistance for upkeep.

A win for the group could have sweeping ramifications for the entire European Union, with legal precedent existing for apes -- and possibly other animals -- to receive the rights, protections, and even medical, financial, and social benefits of human beings.

A lower court dismissed the original case without directly addressing whether or not an ape could legally be adjudged a human. So Miss Stibbe and the AAAF appealed directly to the European Court of Human Rights, which has agreed to a preliminary hearing.

Miss Stibbe says, "Since he has no close relatives, I am doing this as the person closest to him." She says she also plans to legally adopt Matthew as well.

Posted by Gauss on May-23-2008 16:07:

That's absurd.

Posted by glass on May-23-2008 16:10:

I'm all for it, I could totally get away with throwing my feces at people that walk past my house

Posted by DigitalPhoenix on May-23-2008 16:12:

I'm all for the care of animals but that's pushing the issue way too much
Taxpayers have enough burden to deal with our own kind, then for animals?

Fail

Posted by whiskers on May-23-2008 16:42:

You, wacky Europeans!

Posted by Sunsnail on May-23-2008 16:43:

Only in Austria

Posted by The17sss on May-23-2008 16:47:

LOL.. is this for real?

Posted by iammesol on May-23-2008 17:05:

Posted by Dr. DAS on May-23-2008 17:10:

quote:
Originally posted by Sunsnail
Only in Austria

I know a great house in Austria, recently made available, with a large underground habitat...perfect for a newly humanized chimp.

Posted by DJ Shibby on May-23-2008 19:56:

haha! awesome.

Whenever I hear a person laughing, I am certain I'm hearing monkeys.

Posted by kadomony on May-23-2008 20:00:

what wont those wacky aussies do next!