Chimpanzee Cecilia Finds Sanctuary: An Interview with GAP Brazil

Cecilia enjoying her new life at the sanctuary

By Lauren Choplin, NhRP

In November of 2016, an Argentine judge issued a ruling that has changed the life of a single chimpanzee—and could help do the same for other autonomous nonhuman animals. Thanks to litigation brought by an Argentine organization (AFADA) and modeled on the NhRP’s habeas petitions in the US, Cecilia—formerly held alone in captivity at the Mendoza Zoo—is now considered a “non-human legal person” with “inherent rights.” On April 5th, pursuant to this ruling, she arrived at the Great Ape Project Brazil’s Sanctuary of Sorocaba.

Check the full interview with Jaqueline B. Ramos (Communications Manager of GAP Project International) in English and in Portuguese at https://www.nonhumanrights.org/blog/chimpanzee-cecilia/