Word from YoG Ambassador Ian Redmond (OBE).
Should great apes have rights? This was one of the questions addressed last Sunday (26th July) on BBC1’s The Big Questions, which the BBC describe as their ‘flagship ethical and religious debate programme’.
I was invited to take part not because of my role as Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla, but because I have spent hundreds of hours in the company of apes and have had the good fortune to regard some of them as friends (and an objective assessment of their behaviour suggests that the friendship was mutual).
I guess for any pedantic taxonomists reading this, I should specify ‘non-human apes as friends as well as human ones…’ Great apes share so many characteristics with humans that they are now classed in the same zoological family as us – the Hominidae (find out more in my new book The Primate Family Tree/Primates of the World via www.4apes.com/shop). But paradoxically, in law they have the same legal standing as a piece of furniture; in most countries without wild ape populations, captive apes can be bought and sold legally, and any protection they do have in law is accorded mainly because they are endangered species or because they are animals and covered by anti-cruelty laws. Unfortunately these laws tend to take a rather physical view of cruelty as beating or starving an animal, rather than causing it suffering in other ways – so in law there is nothing to stop the owner of any non-human primate pulling an infant off a mother and selling one or both of them, even though it self-evidently causes great distress to both.
The programme, which can be seen on-line at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lw5v7#synopsis, highlighted for me how strongly some people feel about this – whether for or against. The divide between the two sides was not bridged, and I suspect few viewers changed their opinion as a result of listening to the arguments, despite the passion with which some were made.
Briefly, my personal position is that the concept of ‘rights’ is an important one in defining limits to human behaviour, whether you believe these rights are God-given or a human construct. As such, I see no reason why the concept should not be extended to other species, especially those with a higher-order of intelligence who share many of the characteristics we consider to be important in humans. It seems to me (and many others) quite wrong that a self-aware social mammal with cognitive abilities similar to a child has the same legal standing as a chair, i.e. a possession to be bought and sold. To me, great apes deserve respect, and the granting of basic rights in law might change atavistic attitudes and help prevent the abuses that humans inflict on them. To those who say human rights are not respected everywhere, I agree and wish it were otherwise; but it makes no sense to ignore one kind of abuse while striving to prevent another – we need action on both fronts.
I should also stress, however, that these are my personal views based on 33 years of studying, interacting with and in some cases becoming friends with great apes; these views are not those of the UN Great Ape Survival Partnership or the UN Year of the Gorilla campaign, which focus on ensuring the necessary steps are taken for great apes to survive in their natural habitat.
To find out more about the philosophical arguments for ape rights, visit the Great Ape Project at http://www.greatapeproject.org/. The rights GAP seeks for great apes are simply life, liberty and freedom from torture. I’d also recommend reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights so as to better understand the difference between what we strive to give our own species and what those who have signed up to GAP seek to grant to non-human beings.
My wife made a very pertinent comment after the programme, observing that in any group of people the vast majority respond positively to a call for greater respect for and protection of great apes, whereas talk of rights immediately divides the room. And as great apes need all the friends they can get at the moment, tactically it might be better in the short term to focus on educating people about apes to increase respect for their cognitive abilities and social skills. Then in the not too distant future, the logic of granting them rights might not seem such a radical idea…
Cheers,
Ian
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10 Comments
This is a very interesting post, since I agree that the term “animal rights” can turn people off, people who may not understand what it means. Jane Goodall solved this problem for me: It’s not about animal rights, it’s about (and I may be slightly paraphrasing here) human responsibility for the world (including animals) around us. That we human animals must become as aware as possible of the ramifications of our choices and actions. I think saying animal rights puts some people on the defensive. When you switch the argument to the question of How do I affect the world around me, I think it makes for a more workable discussion.
Agree, very well put but I do believe that we, the human population in general (not all) are not quite yet ready to speak in such specific terms but we are moving towards it and one day it will happen. In meantime as was said we should focus on the educational aspect, raise awareness and conserve their habitat…. Unfortunately as long as we humans don’t grant each other these rights around the world it will be an uphill struggle to give these our closes cousins the same respect as so many of us knows they deserve..
Hi Iain, great post. I agree with apes getting human rights, I tweeted this story and so far one person also agrees!
Agree, very well put but I do believe that we, the human population in general (not all) are not quite yet ready to speak in such specific terms but we are moving towards it and one day it will happen. In meantime as was said we should focus on the educational aspect, raise awareness and conserve their habitat…. Unfortunately as long as we humans don’t grant each other these rights around the world it will be an uphill struggle to give these our closes cousins the same respect as so many of us knows they deserve..
Agree, very well put but I do believe that we, the human population in general (not all) are not quite yet ready to speak in such specific terms but we are moving towards it and one day it will happen. In meantime as was said we should focus on the educational aspect, raise awareness and conserve their habitat…. Unfortunately as long as we humans don’t grant each other these rights around the world it will be an uphill struggle to give these our closes cousins the same respect as so many of us knows they deserve…
But I should add — YES, I agree that apes should have human rights!!
But we can’t even safeguard these rights for humans. Seems a bit premature to go giving human rights to nonhuman hominids.
Would it perhaps be less controversial – and so more successful – to simply push for greater protection laws?
I watched this programme on Sunday 26th and was full of admiration for Ian Redmond,constantly having to fly in the face of adversity in a rare and most unusual debate for a SUNDAY MORNING! Also having a good (Scottish) presenter who had to keep a finely tuned balance was also absolutely essential in order to have the best overview.Another similar debate would be welcome in the near future to keep the momentum going!!
I absolutely adore our great apes and other wild and pet life. I salute the work you folks do and frankly envy you.
As somebody who is a rather hapless legatee of the exquisite traditions of cow worship ie worship of the loving, the productive, the meek, I can sense how we are so so off balance.
Morally hanging upside down in our worship of destruction and dominance.
If you ask me, apes and other non human species must have ancestral rights and territories.
Of course, we have to relook our ideas of modernity.
May I welcome you and your esteemed visitors to visit and participate at:
Yet another “conspiracy in corruption”
Andhra Pradesh High Court’s Pernicious Rebellion Against The Law .05/29/09
RTI Act 2005 Abuse In Andhra Pradesh- SIC Cheats! Chief Secretary Lies!05/07/09
Prejudiced CIC Laps Up PMO Lies 05/05/09 Divakar S Natarajan and Varun Gandhi Cannot Both Be Wrong ! 01/28/09
And India’s editorial class will not report the story!
sathyagraha.blogspot.com
News and views from Divakar S Natarajan’s, “no excuses”, ultra peaceful, non partisan, individual sathyagraha against corruption and for the idea of the rule of law in India. Now in its 18th year.
Any struggle against a predatory authority is humanity’s struggle to honour the gift of life.
I completely agree with you, Ian. It makea total sense to me if we, as the human race provide our technical “brothers and sisters” with the same rights as our own selves. However, may i make a suggestion? Might you try to relate to more and all audiances by, say, bringing pictures of a common human being and a common great ape, and show them to the audiance, you would encourage people to donate, volunteer, and more importantly, understand. By understand, i mean they would understand the important link between human beings and great apes. For those of the american race that belive the scientific explaination for the human race (like myself), they would really feel a connection to their ancestors, the great apes (not applied to everyone) and relize what an important link they are to everyone.