Spain and Ape Rights

The Spanish Parliament has voted to extend certain rights to apes, according to this news story from Reuters.  The Great Ape Project seems to have been highly influential in prompting the action:

The new resolutions have cross-party or majority support and are expected to become law and the government is now committed to update the statute book within a year to outlaw harmful experiments on apes in Spain.

"We have no knowledge of great apes being used in experiments in Spain, but there is currently no law preventing that from happening," Pozas said.

Keeping apes for circuses, television commercials or filming will also be forbidden and breaking the new laws will become an offence under Spain's penal code.

Keeping an estimated 315 apes in Spanish zoos will not be illegal, but supporters of the bill say conditions will need to improve drastically in 70 percent of establishments to comply with the new law.

I discuss certain legal issues related to ape rights in this student note.

Comments

[Anibal]

I have a consistent and sound biophilia (an strong commitment for respect for biological diversity and the whole natural world due to wonder and acknowledgemnt of our moral dutiness to preserve it) but animal paradigms in scientific research are needed, and should to be conciously disscus among the interest parties.

Neverthless, although there are voices against providing basic rights (right to life, right of freedom, and banning torture)i consider that great apes are entitled to rights (rights confered [pasive subjects] rather than active subjects exercising rights).

But in this philosophical debate, with social political and cultural branches, there is a risk to slippery-slope arguments. Why apes and not ants becasue myrmecologists are sure that ants exhibit intelligent behaviour too.