Archive: 12 posts

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The Great Ape Project: An Idea, A Book, An Organization (http://www.greatapeproject.org/) "The idea is founded upon undeniable scientific proof that non-human great apes share more than genetically similar DNA with their human counterparts. They enjoy a rich emotional and cultural existence in which they experience emotions such as fear, anxiety and happiness. They share the intellectual capacity to create and use tools, learn and teach other languages. They remember their past and plan for their future. It is in recognition of these and other morally significant qualities that the Great Ape Project was founded. The Great Ape Project seeks to end the unconscionable treatment of our nearest living relatives by obtaining for non-human great apes the fundamental moral and legal protections of the right to life, the freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty, and protection from torture." 30DOJZHg4qA The Declaration of 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. -------------------- What do you think? Isn't it unfair that one Great Ape species, humans, get special privileges where chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans do not? Vote and let me know what you think as I am very interested in Great Apes; especially Bonobos! :arg:

2008-11-07 19:42:00 Author: Unknown User

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Bonobos, eh? Would that be because of their... "peculiaR" sexual behavior? Anyway, I voted Yes because there was no midway point- I believe that Great Apes are intellegent, but not at the same intellegence level as us- however, I believe that every single animal should have a declaration of rights or something, but not at the "same" level as humans, since they haven't achieved our level of sentience, and thus can't do everything we can.

2008-11-07 20:28:00 Author: RockSauron Posts: 10882

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Rock; it seems you have missed the point. All Great Apes DO have the same level of sentience. We are all fully aware, they just cannot speak human language. I certainly believe that a mute human should have the same rights, so why not other 'mute' Great Apes? EDIT: And yes, I admire how Bonobos resolve their conflict through sexual mating, I wish humans could follow suit.

2008-11-07 20:33:00 Author: Unknown User

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If it's even a question, then I definitely think they should have these basic human rights. Just read the Wikipedia article about the Bonobo species. Quite fascinating.

2008-11-07 21:32:00 Author: supersickie Posts: 1366

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Darwinism at it's finest. Yeah, they should have equal rights, especially seeing that they've nearly reached our level of sentience. Guess we aren't as great as we often like to think.

2008-11-07 21:44:00 Author: Code1337 Posts: 3476

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Agreed, although this isn't OUR level of sentience as we had to evolve too. It would be really interesting to think about if some day other Great Apes can start developing languages similar to human languages. They can already learn ASL which is AWESOME! :arg:

2008-11-07 21:49:00 Author: Unknown User

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Agreed, although this isn't OUR level of sentience as we had to evolve too. It would be really interesting to think about if some day other Great Apes can start developing languages similar to human languages. They can already learn ASL which is AWESOME! :arg: Lets just hope they don't turn out as badly as us. >_<

2008-11-07 21:50:00 Author: Code1337 Posts: 3476

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Agreed. Watch a Bonobo play Pacman: Rh8gfIcjQNY

2008-11-07 21:55:00 Author: Unknown User

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Bonobo is awesome. nuff said.

2008-11-07 21:59:00 Author: Code1337 Posts: 3476

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No you fool! This is how planet of the apes began!! I agree as long as these rights are kept basic. We're hardly going to allow them a vote.

2008-11-07 22:03:00 Author: Killian Posts: 2575

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Of course not, the other Great Apes have the mental capacity of a child, and obviously children cannot vote. Although they DO have amazing memorization skills, even better than humans do: xrIhdbrwyHA Or their knack for language: wRM7vTrIIis

2008-11-08 00:35:00 Author: Unknown User

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Hm, I suppose Great Apes having the intellegence of human children makes sense. When you said that, I thoughyou meant on the same level as Human adults, which would just be >_<. But yeah, if they are as intellegent as human children (something many different experiments suggest), then they should be given more rights. Then again, I think that all animals, regardless of how intellegent they are, should be given some rights, even though they couldn't possible understand those rights. Personally, I just want them to ban puppy mills.

2008-11-08 17:21:00 Author: RockSauron Posts: 10882

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