VIENNA, May 4 A woman in Austria is engaged in a legal battle to win legal guardianship of a chimpanzee to fight for its "human" rights. Keeper Paula Stibbe, a native Briton, said primates such as Matthew -- the chimp in question -- should be given the same rights as human beings in the legal system, The Sun reported Friday.
She is attempting to win legal guardianship of Matthew and help the chimp retain a nearly $7,000 gift from a businessman. The money would otherwise go to the Austrian government.
Austrian law regards legal guardianship as a human right, so Stibbe's case becomes one of convincing a Vienna court that chimps and humans are fundamentally the same.
"Of course he has the right to be recognized as an individual," Stibbe said. "Anyone who spends time with Matthew will see that he has every right to be classified as a person." Famed British primate expert Jane Goodall is expected to give testimony supporting Stibbe's case.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
