[extropy-chat] Spanish Socialists consider giving apes human-level rights

[Anne-Marie Taylor]

It amazed me to hear that The Spanish Socialist Party is introducing 
  a bill in the Congress of Deputies to try and give apes some of the same
  legal protection as humans.  I had no idea we have an average of 97.5%
  human shared genes with chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
  
It is so nice to hear something so positive. 

  I first learned about chimpanzees by reading and listening to the research done 
  by Jane Goodall, it was overwhelming to see how human like they are. 
  I really can't understand why humans would want to bring harm to an animal 
  with such a capability of manipulating the same skills as humans.
   
  Ethically, humans have moral obligations.  
   
  In the 1940's people with a development disabilty would find themselves
  institutionalized or scrutinized.  
We now have laws to defend the rights of such people.
   
  While evolving, we recognized that fair and unjust  behavior towards things 
  we don't understand is simply ignorance or maliciouness. This is unexceptable.
   
  Helen Keller once said, "There is no better way to be thankful for your sight 
  than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark."
  
I think the chimpamzees, the gorilla's and the orangutans are very much in the dark.
  If it is against the law to harm a child or a child that is handicaped, why is it 
  accepted to harm animals that distinguish such the same genes as humans?
   
  Anna

				
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