On Sunday, a Swiss region, Basel-Stadt, will vote on whether primates should get some of the same fundamental rights as people.
The northern Swiss province of Basel-Stadt will vote on whether to change its constitution to allow primates to have a “right to life” and “mental and physical integrity” under local law.
Sentience, an animal rights organization, piloted the referendum under Switzerland’s direct democracy system.
The petition amassed over 100,000 signatures, after which it will follow a popular vote. On February 13, 2022, the referendum will commence.
According to local media sources, once they achieved the quota, the city authorities promptly petitioned Switzerland’s Supreme Court to halt the vote. Thereby, claiming that it violated federal law.
“This will mark the first time worldwide that people can vote on fundamental rights for non-human animals,” AFP quoted the group as saying.
Primates rights
Sentience, founded in Basel, claims that primates are extremely cognitive, have a dynamic social life. They can feel pain, grief, and compassion. (Zolpidem)
However, they are unable to defend themselves against intrusions into their existence. Therefore, humans must shoulder the responsibility and provide the rights, according to the Sentience website.
Basel-Stadt is famous for having one of Europe’s top zoos. According to the organization, the canton, which borders France and Germany, is likewise home to 150 primates.
Pedro Pozas is the Spanish director of the Great Apes Project, an international campaign demanding rights for primates. According to him, the vote is a statement of intent so that primates live in better conditions,’
The vote, according to animal rights activists, is hugely symbolic. Steven Wise, a US lawyer who specializes in animal rights says the scope of the statute might be very broad.
The vote ‘would give certain rights to primates, which would have to be litigated out as to what rights those are’, he told AFP.