Spain's Parliament is set to pass legislation calling for rights for apes.
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain's parliament is to declare support for rights to life and freedom for great apes on Wednesday, apparently the first time any national legislature will have recognized such rights for non-humans.
Parliament is to ask the government to adhere to the Great Ape Project, which would mean recognizing that our closest genetic relatives should be part of a "community of equals" with humans, supporters of the resolution said.
The move in a country better known for bull-fighting would follow a string of social reforms which have converted Spain from one of Europe's most conservative nations into a liberal trailblazer.
Backers of the resolution expect support from the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose government has legalized gay marriage and reduced the influence of the Catholic Church in education.
"With this, Spain will make itself a world leader in protection of the great apes," said Pedro Pozas, general secretary of the Great Ape Project's Spanish branch.
The resolution, presented by a Green Party parliamentarian, prompted criticism and some ridicule at first.
We were among the first to ridicule it, too! Well, then, if they get the rights, they have to get the responsibilities, too. When is the Spanish Parliament going to pass the banana tax? Hmmmm? When are the apes going to be subject to the same taxation as the rest of us?
A sure sign of a civilization in decline is when they get sidetracked off into addressing silly issues instead of dealing with realities.
Uh………
So…how long until apes have to register for the conscript Spanish Army?
Will there be a ‘same-species’ marriage law?
And just how many great apes are in Spain?
And what about the loons?
‘…a liberal trailblazer’. Ya know, there’s a reason why the Neanderthals are extinct. Maybe Spain is next.
What Blackhawk said: just how many great apes exactly are there–other than in zoos–in Spain, anyway. And what will they be doing with those monkeys, since now they are no longer attractions, but slaves?
Europe is soo gonna be EUrabia if they don’t snap back to reality soon.
Maybe a couple hundred I think the article said.