Tommy v. Lavery
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
54 N.Y.S.3d 392 (2017)
- Written by Brianna Pine, JD
Facts
Tommy and Kiko, two chimpanzees, were held in captivity at separate facilities. The nonprofit organization Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. (NhRP) (plaintiff) filed two petitions for habeas corpus relief on their behalf, seeking to have the chimpanzees recognized as “persons” under the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) Article 70 and thereby entitled to transfer to more suitable facilities. The NhRP argued that chimpanzees possess many human-like cognitive, social, and moral capabilities, including self-recognition, goal-directed behavior, planning, communication about past and future events, awareness of others’ perspectives, making and use of tools, counting and ordering, moral behavior such as fairness and ostracizing violators, collective hunting and cooperation, protection of others and territory, and conflict resolution. The NhRP contended that these abilities made chimpanzees sufficiently person-like to warrant habeas relief. The trial court denied the petitions, concluding that chimpanzees are not “persons” under CPLR Article 70 and therefore not entitled to habeas corpus relief. The NhRP appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Renwick, J.)
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