Ape Shit

Something that has really begun to interest me lately is the subject of great apes. An article in the New York Times recently reported that scientists have indeed proved the extent of ape intelligence. You can check that out here:

Almost Human, and Sometimes Smarter


In fact, in one memory test in which numbers flashed up on computer screen in different locations and the objective was to press the spots in the order that they flashed up, chimpanzees outperformed humans by far. Chimps have been proven to utilize tools for such things as cracking nuts and fishing for termites. Furthermore, research has also shown that an ape culture exists.

So the question is: if these things have been proven, and apes have only a 1.23% DNA difference from humans, then why are they still being used for animal testing, kept in zoos, or forced to do tricks for the entertainment of humans? I believe it is fair to say that many apes are much more intelligent then mentally handicapped humans, yet they are still treated cruelly. Therefore looking into this, I stumbled upon something which has apparently existed since 1993, The Great Ape Project.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_ape_project



This group has been fighting for the rights of great apes such as “the right to life, the protection of individual liberty, and the prohibition of torture” . I think these are pretty fair rights given that apes have “varied social, emotional, and cognitive life”. They are not asking for apes to have the right to vote or anything, just that they are treated in a respectful manner.