There is no doubt that chimpanzees share a number of human emotions, a product of our shared evolutionary history.
Can you look at this picture and not get a lump in your throat? You can just feel the grief in the line of chimpanzees sombrely watching the body of their beloved friend being wheeled away.
Dorothy died last year—among her friends after a lifetime of abuse and imprisonment. Her death caused huge sadness among her extended “family”, both human and chimp. Her story makes one wonder what she must have thought of her human cousins; capable of great cruelty yet also of caring and kindness.
Looking at this picture, are those mourning chimps merely objects of amusement? Are they simply handy laboratory animals? Is there really no moral question on killing these creatures other than the destruction of someone's property?
I think not. I think it's high time the rest of the world follows Spain's lead and extend real rights to our closest cousins.
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This article was first posted in my blog, ReasonCheck in 2009.
