An orangutan named Sandra has become the first non-human animal recognized as a person in a court of law.
The Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights, an animal advocacy group, had asked Argentine courts recognize the 28-year-old great ape’s right to freedom from unjust imprisonment.
On Friday, an appeals court declared that Sandra, who is owned by the Buenos Aires Zoo, is a “non-human person” who has been wrongfully deprived of her freedom.
Sandra, who was born in German zoo and sent to Argentina two decades ago, at an age when wild orangutans are still living at their mother’s side, won’t be given complete freedom.
Having lived her entire life in captivity, Sandra likely could not survive in the wild. Instead, if the zoo does not challenge the decision within 10 working days, Sandra will be sent to a sanctuary in Brazil.
“This opens the way not only for other Great Apes, but also for other sentient beings which are unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in zoos, circuses, water parks and scientific laboratories,” said lawyer Paul Buompadre, one of the activists who filed the suit, to the La Nacion newspaper.
The decision may have ramifications for other great apes. In the United States, a group called the Nonhuman Rights Project is currently seeking similar rights for four privately-owned chimpanzees in New York state.
According to the Nonhuman Rights Project, chimpanzees deserve rights—not full human rights, but at least a few basic ones—because they are so similar to humans.
They’ve so far been unsuccessful. Their latest court defeat came in early December, when a New York appeals court argued that, regardless of their intelligence or feelings, chimpanzees can’t fulfill the social obligations expected of anyone with rights.
The Argentine court, however, made no mention of social duties. Sandra is simply enough like a human person to be considered a person, they ruled.
“We intend to bring the Argentine case to the attention of the New York appellate courts immediately,” said Nonhuman Rights Project founder Steven Wise in a statement. “We believe it will assist the courts in reaching a similar conclusion for our chimpanzee plaintiffs.”
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