Unequal apes: Orangutans get human rights, chimps don’t

To free or not to free: Two court cases in two different countries to decide the fates of Sandra, an orangutan (left), and Tommy, a chimpanzee (right), have resulted in two different judgments.

In two court cases in different countries, two different apes learn that human rights are not always equal.

An orangutan held in an Argentine zoo can be freed and transferred to a sanctuary after a court recognised the ape as a “non-human person” unlawfully deprived of its freedom, according to a media report on Dec 21.