Saturday, January 19, 2008

Court says monkeys, chimps can't sue


Court says monkeys, chimps can't sue
AP - A Texas appeals court has affirmed a lower court decision that nine chimpanzees and monkeys that were brought to the Primarily Primates sanctuary in 2006 don't have a legal right to sue.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had sought to gain legal standing for the primates transferred from Ohio State University to the sanctuary after they were retired. PETA alleged that the sanctuary conditions were substandard and that it would be best for the seven chimps and two monkeys to be moved to another sanctuary.

The animals were later moved to the Chimp Haven sanctuary in Louisiana after the Texas attorney general placed Primarily Primates in receivership for six months. Primarily Primates, which has since restructured its board, is suing to have the animals returned.

The 4th Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed the lower court decision dismissing the case in September 2006.

PETA said it was considering whether to appeal.

"The receiver's report of the substandard facilities at Primarily Primates, Inc. (PPI), described horrific conditions for the animals there, from which some of the animals were saved as a result of litigation," PETA said in a statement.

Priscilla Feral, chairwoman of a restructured Primarily Primates board, applauded the ruling.

"We are glad that this wrong-headed lawsuit which PETA filed against a sanctuary is finally over and we can get on with bettering the lives of each and every animal under our care," she said.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's not cool to see an animal as property even if you feel it is right or even if legal says so. Those primates gonig back to you is just a mother sending kids she adopted back to a unsatisfactory foster care. If you care about these animals you would think about their happiness first before your budget. On the other hand, where they are now wants them so bad I would think they can pay an equal amount of your loss. What comes down to it is if there this legal dispute makes your company look selfish to their needs, your going to lose business anyway. Who wants to go to a facility that can't take care of their animals the first time. Hope you make the right decision and make these animals and your support, the people, happy.

Kermit's Community Blog said...

To learn more about the suffering of the former OSU chimps who now live peacefully at Chimp Haven please visit http://www.kermitscommunity.com. The horrific suffering endured while housed at Primarily Primates was inhumane and abusive.