Ape Rights

This is one of those stories that sounds like a fake...like it's from The Onion, but it was reported in my favorite magazine (The Week), The Brussels Journal (whatever that is), and other Spanish-language sources.

Spain's Socialist government last week introduced a measure to grant the equivalent of human rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos. The law would recognize great apes as "kinds of persons," protect them from mistreatment, and prohibit their use in circuses and scientific experiments. "We need to break the barrier between the species," said parliament member Francisco Garrido. Opponents, including the Catholic Church, said the proposal denigrated human beings. "Too much ‘progress' becomes ridiculous," said Archbishop Fernando Sebastian.

Not that I think it's a bad idea to be kind to the great apes. Insert obligatory Planet of the Apes reference. By the way, I've heard of bonobos on several science shows lately. For some folks, I think, bonobo society would sound like an attractive proposition.