Update: Chimp denied legal guardian

A quick update on this bayblab story from earlier this month. In a blow to 'ape rights', the chimp in question has been denied a legal guardian by the courts. As expected, the ruling is being appealed.

Should chimps have human rights?

I found this on slashdot... Apparently the justification for giving human rights to chimps is this: "He recognises himself in the mirror, plays hide-and-seek and breaks into fits of giggles when tickled. He is also our closest evolutionary cousin.". There is even talks of including chimps in the Habeas Corpus. Obviously these people have their hearts at the right place, but I think they are wrong. Firstly chimps are not human, no matter what their behaviour is like. In fact Bonobos are much closer to us when it comes to behaviour. What will happen when a chimp kills a human? Can it plead insanity because its IQ is lower? Should it get equal opportunity rights? Obviously it doesn't work that way. And why single out the chimp. Do we love ourselves so much that we'll only save animals that look like us? For me I'd rather have all the animals protected under the law to some degree. If we have to give them personal rights, we better design a new system from scratch. Are different species at birth unequal under the law?