I’m not talking about the retail store here I’m talking about the Great Ape Project. An article on Drudge lead me to an unusual site www.greatapeproject.org. At first glance I was admittedly curious to help. I, for one, do not believe that it is okay to tear the wings off flies or kill animals just for the fun of killing them.

My attitude toward this organization changed when I read there Declaration on Great Apes:

We demand the extension of the community of equals to include all great apes: human beings, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans.

The community of equals is the moral community within which we accept certain basic moral principles or rights as governing our relations with each other and enforceable at law. Among these principles or rights are the following:

1. The Right to Life
The lives of members of the community of equals are to be protected. Members of the community of equals may not be killed except in very strictly defined circumstances, for example, self-defense.

2. The Protection of Individual Liberty
Members of the community of equals are not to be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty; if they should be imprisoned without due legal process, they have the right to immediate release. The detention of those who havenot been convicted of any crime, or of those who are not criminally liable, should be allowed only where it can be shown to be for their own good, or necessary to protect the public from a member of the community who wouldclearly be a danger to others if at liberty. In such cases, members of the community of equals must have the right to appeal, either directly or, if they lack the relevant capacity, through an advocate, to a judicial tribunal.

3. The Prohibition of Torture
The deliberate infliction of severe pain on a member of the community of equals, either wantonly or for an alleged benefit to others, is regarded as torture, and is wrong.

I agree with #1 and #3 but #2 is off the charts odd to me.

So what they are saying is that we must release all of the apes from zoos unless we provide for them some legal process. If an Ape has not been convicted of a crime we, humans, have no right to detain them in any fashion. Then if we do detain an Ape “to protect the public” they “must have the right to appeal” the decision!

Is this nuts or what?!?!