Are chimpanzees people too? There's a movement that seeks legal "personhood" for chimps and other animals based on their view that humans have no transcendent value over other animals. They call it "species-ism", discrimination that favors humans against animals.
But humans are different. One thing that distinguishes humans is their moral responsibility to treat animals kindly. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the oldest charity of its kind, was founded in 1824 for this purpose - we demand kindness from persons but not from animals.
That's the basic foundation of a recent decision by the New York court. They "refused to hear an appeal seeking to create chimp personhood."
The court says that animals cannot "be held legally accountable for their action," as persons can.
(cont'd tomorrow)
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