Slashdot Mirror
Argentine Court Rules Orangutan Is a "Non-Human Person"
First time accepted submitter Andrio writes In an unprecedented decision, an Argentine court has ruled that the Sumatran orangutan 'Sandra', who has spent 20 years at the zoo in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires, should be recognized as a person with a right to freedom. The ruling, signed by the judges unanimously, would see Sandra freed from captivity and transferred to a nature sanctuary in Brazil after a court recognized the primate as a "non-human person" which has some basic human rights. The Buenos Aires zoo has 10 working days to seek an appeal." A similar case involving chimpanzees failed to provide "non-human person" status here in the U.S. earlier this month.
... out in full force... How defensive you get... terrified of facing your feelings, aren't you...
So what's it like, being a sociopath and unable to feel the suffering of others, but having to pretend, every day, that you actually give a stuff about anybody but yourself? Work colleague tells you one of their parents has just died: reel out the script, "I'm so sorry", blah blah blah, and PRETEND that you care...
What's that like? Being unable to feel others' suffering?
The reason this case went to court was to SAVE an innocent creature from suffering. How terrible. But then, almost all of Slashdot readers aren't vegan, and couldn't care less about the untold suffering of billions of animals every YEAR, who are tortured and killed so they can avoid questioning why they eat what they eat. After all, you might have to admit you were wrong, and that would be just terrible, wouldn't it... The suffering of thousands of animals is nothing compared to your precious feelings, right?
Law? How shortsighted! No; it's about what we value, and how we make choices about life and death, and what makes us human.
That woman opened up her body to her mate and that little person ended up there through no fault of its own. Mommy and daddy decided to ignore basic human physiology and now it is, in fact, the end of the story for that kid that ends up like it went through a blender. Your hand is a part of your body; ever tried to put your hand in a blender?
"Now, I doubt any of you would prefer a rolled up newspaper as a weapon against a dictator or a criminal intruder."