Steven Wise: If Chimpanzees Can Feel And Think, Should They Also Have Legal Rights?

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Hacking The Law.

About Steven Wise's TED Talk

Animals like chimpanzees are autonomous beings with rich emotional lives, says animal rights lawyer Steven Wise. He's working to get courts to recognize them as "legal persons" and grant them rights.

About Steven Wise

Animal rights lawyer Steven Wise is the founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, an initiative that works to secure legal rights for nonhuman animals like great apes, elephants, dolphins, and whales.

He has worked for nearly 40 years to help build the legal basis to grant legal rights for animals, including writing several books on animal rights and the fight to extend legal rights to all humans. His books include Rattling the Cage – Toward Legal Rights for Animals, Drawing the Line – Science and the Case for Animal Rights, and Though the Heavens May Fall – The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery.

His career was portrayed in the 2016 documentary, Unlocking The Cage. [Copyright 2018 NPR]