WILD

Orangutan in Argentina Granted Rights

Considered a “non-human” person.

A court in Argentina has ruled that an orangutan held at the Buenos Aires Zoo may enjoy some of the same legal rights as humans. Lawyers for Argentina’s Association of Professional Lawyers for Animal Rights appealed to free Sandra the orangutan by arguing she was a “non-human person” and therefore was being illegally detained. The decision came down to whether Sandra was considered property or a “person.” “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 Paul Buompadre, a lawyer for the group. If there is no appeal against the decision, Sandra will be transferred to a sanctuary in Brazil.