NFT: Argentine Court Extends Some Basic Human Rights to Orantuan

The orangutan has always been nature's most fascinating land-dwelling animal for me. They are as intelligent as chimpanzees, but without the aggression. Some argue they are the most contemplative non-human animal. They're also the only animal other than humans known to assign value to items and make trades based on those evaluations (no way I'm going you two oranges for just 1 damn banana!)

Anyway, with all that in mind, this story is really interesting to me.

Quote:

The "habeas corpus" ruling in favor of the orangutan was requested last November by the Association of Professional Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) alleging that Sandra suffered "unjustified confinement of an animal with proven cognitive ability." Lawyers argued that just as a person, the ape is capable of maintaining emotional ties and has the ability to reason, while feeling frustrated with her confinement. Furthermore, the legal team claimed that the 29-year old orangutan can make decisions, has self-awareness and perception of time. And therefore, all things considered, Sandra's presence at the Zoo constituted illegal deprivation of liberty. Habeas corpus is a fundamental legal term in human rights, dating back to the early fourteenth century during the reign of Edward I in England. At that time courts began requiring the monarchy to report the reasons behind restricted freedom of a subject.

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