Judge Rules Suffering Chimp To Be Removed From Unhappy Life In Zoo

The chimp had been living alone in a concrete cell.

Credit: The Great Ape Project


Following an ongoing battle for the freedom of a chimp called Cecilia, animal rights advocates may soon be able to rejoice as the possibility of the chimp being granted a better life is drawing near. Cecilia has been living in a concrete cell at Mendocino Zoo in Argentina, completely by herself after two of her friends died. This solitary confinement has resulted in further unhappiness and little energy. After finding out about the situation, officials from the Great Ape Project have collaborated with the Association of Officials and Lawyers for the Rights of Animals in an attempt to move Cecilia to an ape sanctuary located in Brazil. A statement was released by the Great Ape Project on Tuesday, which claimed that Judge Maria Alejandra of the Third Court of Guarantees of the Judiciary in the Argentinean State of Mendoza had ruled that Cecilia was subject to non-human rights of health and happiness.

This ruling has been described as historic, due to the fact that Cecilia is one of the “first apes to be given the same judicial rights as humans on the grounds that she is also a sentient being who is deserving of the same treatment”, according to recent reports. Following the positive ruling, Cecilia is now in quarantine in preparation for her transportation to Brazil. However, due to her being one of the most beloved residents of the zoo where she has been living, there have been several claims of fraud over the ruling, which reports claim are an attempt to prevent her transfer. The event of this has prompted a need for constant police protection, which she is now receiving until she is ready to be moved.

Judge Maria Alejandra said,

“It is not a question here of granting them the rights that human beings possess, but of accepting and understanding, once and for all, that these beings are sentient beings, who are subject to rights and who, among other things, assist them with the fundamental right to be born, live, grow, and die in the environment that is their own according to their species. They are not animals or great apes to be exhibited as a work of art created by man.”

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