VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- In some ways, Hiasl is like any other Viennese: He indulges a weakness for pastry, likes to paint and enjoys chilling out watchingTV. But he doesn't care for coffee, and he isn't actually a person -- at least not yet.
In a case that could set a global legal precedent for granting basic rights to apes, animal rights advocates are seeking to get the 26-year-old male chimpanzee legally declared a ''person.''
Hiasl's supporters argue he needs that status to become a legal entity that can receive donations and get a guardian to look out for his interests.
''Our main argument is that Hiasl is a person and has basic legal rights,'' said Eberhart Theuer, a lawyer leading the challenge on behalf of the Association Against Animal Factories, a Vienna animal rights group.
''We mean the right to life, the right to not be tortured, the right to freedom under certain conditions,'' Theuer said.
''We're not talking about the right to vote here.''
And why not? Hiasl is over 18.
Is Hiasl more or less a person than a human individual in a persistent vegetative state? a human fetus prior to viability (or post, but not yet born)? the Enron Corp? Microsoft?
Perhaps more important, how do you/we know? What questions do we ask? What criteria do we apply? Why? And who are we to decide?
And should Hiasl be circumcised?
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