Despite their feeling of inadequacy towards the law in dealing with the complex philosophical issue of nonhuman rights, one of the most prominent litigation teams in the field is that of the Nonhuman Rights Project. With a litigation team prominent in many US cases and partnership with others all across the world, they strive to use the laws of equality and liberty to portray intelligent animals as ‘persons’ and strengthen the weak animal protection laws which are yet to suit the moral and scientific advancements in animal philosophy.
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One example of an intelligent animal who was treated unfathomably by its human owner was 30-year-old chimp Tommy. Tommy was found alone in a cage (with concrete floors) in a shed, and was allegedly beaten by his previous owner, Sabo and trainers. When Sabo died, NhRP fought to have tommy transferred to the ‘Save The Chimps sanctuary’ in Florida. However, to qualify Tommy had to be considered a ‘person’ (rather than a ‘thing’) by the law’s definition, which states that one must ‘bear legal duties, submit to societal responsibilities, and be held legally accountable for their actions.”’ NhRP argued that if this was the definition then millions of humans in New york would be denied to go to court. However this argument was shot down in 2017, three years after the case began. NhRP’s first ever animal client had a huge impact on the Nonhuman Rights Movement, and although the judge couldn’t grant Tommy’s personhood, there was no doubt in his mind that Tommy was not merely ‘a thing.’
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