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Professor Richard Cupp Cautions Against Reading Too Much Into Latest Chimp Lawsuit Ruling | BBC Radio 5


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On April 20, a New York Supreme Court justice signed an order forcing Stony Brook University to respond to claims by the Nonhuman Rights Project that two research chimpanzees were being unlawfully detained. The judge mistakingly labeled her order a writ of habeas corpus, which essentially recognized chimps as legal persons; however, the judge has made it clear that she did not intend to give the animals human rights.

In this interview with BBC Radio 5, animal law expert Professor Richard Cupp explains the judge's intent and voices concern over granting chimps personhood based on cognitive capacity alone.