A court in Argentina recognized an orangutan living in a zoo as a "non-human person" that cannot be deprived of its freedom, according to Reuters via Huffington Post.
The Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) filed a writ of habeas corpus (usually used to challenge unlawful imprisonment) on behalf of 29-year-old Sandra, a Sumatran orangutan living in a Buenos Aires zoo.
The court ruled that Sandra had cognitive functions sufficient to warrant her treatment as an object unlawful.
Sandra was born in captivity in Germany and transferred to Argentina 20 years ago.
"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," La Nación quoted AFADA lawyer Paul Buompadre as saying, according to Reuters.
The zoo has 10 working days to appeal the decision, according to Reuters.
Earlier in December, New York's Third Judicial Department ruled that Tommy, a chimpanzee living in an upper New York state zoo, is not entitled to "personhood," according to Live Science. The original case was filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project in 2013.
"Needless to say, unlike human beings, chimpanzees cannot bear any legal duties, submit to societal responsibilities or be held legally accountable for their actions," the judges wrote in their seven-page decision, according to Live Science. "In our view, it is this incapability to bear any legal responsibilities and societal duties that renders it inappropriate to confer upon chimpanzees the legal rights - such as the fundamental right to liberty protected by the writ of habeas corpus - that have been afforded to human beings."
But the Nonhuman Rights Project asserts that "New York has expressly granted personhood to certain nonhuman animals by allowing 'domestic or pet' animals to be trust beneficiaries."
"We have always expected that this case would have to be decided at the highest level," Natalie Prosin, executive director of the Nonhuman Rights Project, said in a statement, according to Live Science. "We hope we are granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals so that we can give Tommy his day in court."
Patrick and Diane Lavery, Tommy's owners, have until Jan. 2 to reply to the motion seeking an appeal.
In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) raised public awareness when they filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld. They equated the animals' treatment to slavery. The court in San Diego dismissed the case.
"When you don't know the biology of a species, to unjustifiably claim it suffers abuse, is stressed or depressed, is to make one of man's most common mistakes, which is to humanize animal behavior," Adrian Sestelo, head of biology for the zoo in Buenos Aires, told La Nación, according to Reuters.
