Activists Fight to Have Chimpanzee Declared Human

Animal rights activists in Vienna are fighting to have a 26-year-old chimpanzee named Matthew declared human.

36-year-old British teacher Paula Stibbe wants to be appointed Matthew's legal guardian in case the animal shelter he lives in shuts down, however, under Austrian law, legal guardianship is limited to humans.

Matthew, along with another chimpanzee and a crocodile, is being cared for by an animal shelter that requires $8000 a month in donations. Donors have been trying to support the chimp, but the law also only allows humans to receive personal gifts.

According to Stibbe, “Everybody who knows him personally will see him as a person.”

Ummm, yeah, I don't think so. I'm sure Darwin is smiling in his grave.

You can read the story at CO-ED Magazine.