Posted by Psilocybin at 1:31am May 12 '10You must sign in to send Psilocybin a message
It's official: In Austria, a chimp is not a person
Animal rights group had sought personhood for soon-to-be-homeless chimp
Lilli Strauss / AP
Animal rights activists sought to have Matthew Hiasl Pan, a 26-year-old male chimpanzee, declared a person.
updated 3:22 p.m. PT, Tues., Jan. 15, 2008
VIENNA, Austria - A chimpanzee cannot be declared a person, Austria's Supreme Court has ruled, activists said Tuesday.
An animal rights group had sought to have the chimp, Matthew Hiasl Pan, declared a person in hopes of gaining guardianship of the animal.
The shelter where Matthew has lived for 25 years is going bankrupt, threatening to leave him homeless. Donors have offered to help support him, but under Austrian law, only a person can receive personal gifts.
The Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories sought to have him declared a person and petitioned to be appointed Matthew's trustee.
But the high court upheld a September ruling by a judge in the town of Wiener Neustadt rejecting the petition, the group said Tuesday.
The rights group said it would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Matthew and another chimp at the shelter, Rosi, were captured as babies in Sierra Leone in 1982 and smuggled to Austria for use in pharmaceutical experiments. Customs officers intercepted the shipment and turned the chimps over to the shelter.
Organizers said they may set up a foundation to collect donations for Matthew, whose life expectancy in captivity is about 60 years.
But they argue that only personhood will ensure that he isn't sold outside Austria.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Austria declares a chimp is not a person - Psilocybin 1:31am May 12 '10
