According to a ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals, Chimpanzees are still not people.
The Judges voted 5-0 in favor of the 2017 ruling that says chimpanzees do not have the legal rights of a human being,
The Nonhuman Rights Project has been fighting to have chimps, Tommy and Kiko freed, claiming that like human beings, chimps have the right to bodily liberty.
Court of Appeals Judge Eugene Fahey said, “The inadequacy of the law as a vehicle to address some of the most difficult ethical dilemmas is on display in this matter. While it is arguable that a chimpanzee is not a person, there is no doubt that it is not merely a thing.”
Fahey who agreed with the court’s decision said the issue of whether nonhuman animals have a fundamental right to liberty still needs to be addressed.
The Nonhuman Rights Project did not release a statement on the court’s ruling. According to an article published on the Nonhuman Rights Project website, the group has been fighting to have Tommy the chimpanzee freed since 2013.
Tommy and Kiko live in different locations in upstate New York.
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