In what could be called as the first ever move to bring “non-human” hominids and humans on the same platform, Spain is about to pass a law that grants ‘human rights’ to these creatures. According to the members of parliament’s environmental committee in the country, “Great apes should be given the human rights to life and freedom”. This view is in compliance with the objectives of the Great Apes Project (GAP) founded by Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri in 1993. This international organization now consists of primatologists, psychologists, ethicists, and other experts who all work in the direction of providing basic legal rights to great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans, as conferred upon their human descendents. These scientists and ethicists believe in treating our intelligent ancestors at par with us in terms of legal rights & protection because they also have varied social, emotional and cognitive skills. Now, Spain’s MPs have also joined hands with philosophers at GAP. Spain is known for bull fighting. The latter being a gory display of animals being used for human entertainment has been highly criticized by animal rights activists and campaigners.

This recent move however, illustrates the more humanitarian side of the country. Spanish MPs alongwith cross-party support, now hope that the law regarding this issue will soon see the light of the day! According to Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project, “This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defence of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity”.

Under this new law, the filming of T.V. commercials or keeping great apes in circuses for entertainment purposes and conducting scientific experiments on these animals will become a criminal offense. This is one of the most promising news about animal protection in recent times. Here’s hoping the law get enacted soon and Spain leads an example for the rest of the world in respecting our smart ancestors.

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