THE GREAT APE PROJECT: AN IDEA, A BOOK, AN ORGANIZATION

http://www.greatapeproject.org/

The idea is founded upon undeniable scientific proof that non-human great apes share more than genetically similar DNA with their human counterparts. They enjoy a rich emotional and cultural existence in which they experience emotions such as fear, anxiety and happiness. They share the intellectual capacity to create and use tools, learn and teach other languages. They remember their past and plan for their future. It is in recognition of these and other morally significant qualities that the Great Ape Project was founded. The Great Ape Project seeks to end the unconscionable treatment of our nearest living relatives by obtaining for non-human great apes the fundamental moral and legal protections of the right to life, the freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty, and protection from torture.

The book, which is the collective work of a group of scientists and scholars, is a multi-faceted analysis that compels readers to question the arbitrary denial of fundamental rights and protections to non-human great apes despite the morally significant characteristics they irrefutably possess. It demands a reflective consideration of extending basic protections to the non-human great apes and forces us to come face to face with the moral and ethical dilemmas of continuing to allow these unconscionable deprivations to exist.

The organization is an international group founded to work for the global removal of non-human great apes from the category of mere property, and for their immediate protection through the implementation of basic legal principles designed to provide these amazing creatures with the right to life, the freedom of liberty and protection from torture.