Court Rules Chimps Still Not People

 Chimpanzees are, legally speaking, still not people following a unanimous ruling by a New York state appeals court Thursday, the New York Daily News reports.

The Nonhuman Rights Project is attempting to secure a writ of habeas corpus for Tommy, who lawyer Steven Wise says lives in a cement cage in a warehouse, and Kiko, who lives in a storefront. According to the AP, Wise bases his argument on chimps' position as humans' closest relatives, their ability to use simple tools, their capacity to learn simple sign language, and more.

But the court ruled that, similarities to people or not, chimps lack the "capacity or ability ... to bear legal duties, or to be held legally accountable for their actions," Reuters reports. The ruling upheld another from January.

Read more at Newser