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In two rooms a continent apart, lawmakers and lawyers wrestled Tuesday with a question that could shake the legal framework of interactions between man and beast: should animals be legally recognized as sentient beings?

In Quebec City, the National Assembly continued debate on Bill 54, which proposes animals be seen as “sentient beings,” rather than property, in the eyes of the province.

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In San Francisco, activists with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a lawsuit claiming a macaque monkey who took now-famous selfie photographs should legally own the copyright.

These cases come amid a push to get the courts and society to better recognize animals’ ability to think and feel pain.

This spring, New Zealand legally recognized animals as sentient beings, while in New York this month, lawyers argued chimpanzees Tommy and Kiko should be recognized as “persons” and freed from imprisonment. Though the court ruled against them, their lawyers say the fight is far from over.