An animal rights group named the Nonhuman Rights Project is filing for "legal personhood" of a chimpanzee residing in a New York trailer lot in Gloversville. The chimps' name is Tommy, and he likes watching cartoons with his human family. The NRP filed the suit Monday in New York demanding that the 26 year old primate be released to live his life happily in an accredited sanctuary.
The courts officially document Tommy as "a cognitively complex autonomous legal person with the fundamental legal right not to be imprisoned," according to The New York Post .
The Nonhuman Rights Project claims that Tommy's incarceration in a "small, dank, cement cage in a cavernous dark shed" is inhumane and must be immediately addressed.
"To be a 'legal person,' one doesn't need to be a human being or even a biological being. A corporation is a legal person," wrote Joyce Tischler, co-founder of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, according to ABC 15 .
"We see that in children. They can be removed from an abusive home and be protected, even though the child might not be able to formulate those desires and the issues represented in the court of law,"
Patrick Lavery, Tommy's owner protests the trial, and states that Tommy is treated like a loving family member, “He’s so attached to us. When we get home, he’ll be so excited to see us,” Lavery told USA Today. “The chimp has color TV and cable. He watches cartoons.”
Lavery claims that Tommy is one of 11 chimps rescued from abusive homes, and that he is caring for him until a proper sanctuary takes Tommy into custody.