... nothing to lose but their chains

It appears the Spanish parliament will be the first legislature in the world to extend rights to life and liberty to the other great apes. Parliament will ask the government to approve the Great Ape Project which demands "the extension of the community of equals to include all great apes: human beings, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans." A resolution will be voted on later this year and is expected to pass.

We have long been inclined to obey a rigid dichotomy -- Homo sapiens on the one hand and all other animals lumped together on the other, us and them. It is past time to recognize the special nature of fellow creatures who, in the words of the Great Ape Project, "enjoy a rich emotional and cultural existence in which they experience emotions such as fear, anxiety and happiness ... share the intellectual capacity to create and use tools ... remember their past and plan for their future." Sentience deserves its due.

Extending rights to sentient beings with so much in common with us seems no more than a logical step in the progress of rights over the last 250 years. It doesn't mean other great apes will enjoy the same rights as humans; it does mean safeguarding their lives, liberty and freedom from abuse. The Spanish, to their great credit, have taken a step as moral as it is bold.