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Rights for apes

  • 14/03/1999

Even as the authorities in Delhi are preparing a crackdown upon 5,000 monkeys frequenting the corridors of power in Lutyen's Delhi, a move is being made in New Zealand to give legally enforceable rights to apes in New Zealand.

The great apes project has the backing of 38 scientists and lawyers. They have come closer to achieving their aim with the introduction of a new draft law in New Zealand that will give apes legally enforceable rights. Their ultimate aim is to work towards a United Nations declaration on the rights of the great apes. Their argument for ape rights is based on just one premise. The genetic similarity between humans and apes.

But are we not all descended from the same single-celled amoeba? Are not all animals cousins in the ultimate analysis? Then there is another question. How will the medical community react to this? Great apes are used for a wide range of drug testing in many countries including the us . How will this drug testing fare?

Then is giving rights to animals all that good? Can it prove counterproductive? Will giving rights to tigers help prevent poaching? A law already exists in India which outlaws hunting. Will freeing circus animals help them or create a problem for them.

Animal rights activists in India have, for example, filed cases against circus owners which may render hundreds of lions, tigers and monkeys homeless. Some of these animals are sick and no zoo will be willing to take them. They are dependent upon humans for food and may not be in a position to survive in the wild. Giving them liberty at this stage may mean nothing short of giving them death.

In fact, in exceptional circumstances like this, it may be better that animals have the right to work and the right to better food and better living conditions. There is a Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It should be given more teeth to monitor their welfare. The only kind of publicity that an animal rights activist will get out of this entire exercise will be bad publicity. Elaine Fuchs and her team at the University of Chicago, usa , are also worried. Fuchs is one of the few scientists seeking solutions for premature hair loss. And now, they think they might have the answer. For the first time, they have

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