LAWYER ALFREDO MIGLIORE, SÃO PAULO UNIVERSITY

Thesis defends that primates knows the principles of morality and, consequently, deserve more than care and protection: they should also have their rights recognized
 
May 15, 2010: A chimpanzee show his tongue. Due to the similarities with humans, primates must have the ‘status’ of rights’ individuals, defends lawyer Alfredo Migliore.

Since anthropocentrism is being struggled, a lot of Law men and philosophers started to defend the existence of basic rights – such as protection of life, freedom and physical integrity – for several animals.

Lawyer Alfredo Migliore went further. According to him, protection laws are not enough to guard primates. Once they share genetic characteristics with humans, they should have the status of right’s individuals, not of goods or things, as it is today.

According to PHD thesis defended by Migliore last week at São Paulo University, “the great primates, which includes, besides humans, other hominids and anthropoids (chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans), have some principles that led to morality.”

“Clearly I do not want that an orangutan gets married”, jokes Migliore. The researcher explains that the Law defines an important distinction between “action ability” and “juridical personality”. The first one is the power given to those that the Law believes that have conditions to practice their rights. The second concept is for those who can be rights’ owners – which, in his evaluation, should comprehend primates in general.

His conclusion is that the protection offered to these animals does not guarantee a life with quality and free of threatens. “Just like it is with men, primates should have right to life and to physical integrity, so that they do not suffer abuse or mistreating”, defends. For him, this could even save some species from extinction.

Nature rights

The idea that the primates have moral notion is one of the arguments of Alfredo Migliore thesis

His defense is based on the theory of natural right. This vision considers that there is right dictated by the Nature. If some natural characteristics are shared by humans and other primates’ species, this would justify the extension of certain rights to the second group.

Migliore developed his research based on several concepts, of biology and anthropology and, of course, Law. He defends that some rights’ concepts should be revised, once the subject started to be studied in an era when anthropocentrism was the center of everything.

According to the lawyer, all the laws related to animals even written privileges human welfare. “Although there is protection, it usually is protection for men, to guarantee we will have a good fauna and flora, for instance”, points.

In biology there is evidence that prove the genetic, behavior and cultural similarity between humans and other primates. To support his thought, the researcher quotes evolutionist Richard Dawkins. As it is said by “The greatest show on Earth” author, “there is no natural category that includes chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans and excludes humans.”

Brazil is still traditionalist when it comes to Law formulations like that

Spain already develops a project which intends to regulate the rights of anthropoids’ primates. Migliore says that Brazil is still traditionalist when it comes to Law formulations like that, but hopes his thesis can be used to take the first step toward an advance in the area.

“It can happen that my study helps jurisprudence to recognize the rights primates must have?”, he expects.

Larissa Rangel
Ciência Hoje On-line

http://cienciahoje.uol.com.br/noticias/2010/05/primatas-sujeitos-de-direito

PS: We completely share this thought of Lawyer Migliore and believe that it is near the day when great primates will be treated as Rights’ individuals and not only as objects or things, letting them be free of human slavery.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International