Yzabelle Bostyn
THE Spanish government has launched a public consultation on a law which would classify primates – including gorillas, orangutans, bonobos and chimpanzees – as humans.
It aims to define the species as having ‘human cognitive ability’ in an attempt to prevent experimental research on them.
The law would also ban their use for commercial purposes in order to aid conservation efforts.
They state humans and primates share ‘genetic closeness’ and have the ability for learning, communication and complex reasoning.
It follows last year’s Animal Welfare Act and a previous attempt to push the classification through parliament in 2006.
They have based their definition on Dr Joseph F Fletcher’s attributes of humanity as established in the 1970s.
Those behind the law also argued the Spanish government considers animals ‘sentient beings’ under a 1997 law.
“This decision, accepted by the entire scientific community, is of great importance as it puts these beings on the same level as our ancestors, homo erectus, homo habilis, australopithecus, etc,” says the proposed legislation.
