Should animals be entitled to the same rights as people? The question is not so outlandish. A judge in the US once suggested that chimpanzees had the right to habeas corpus. Judge Barbara Jaffe was ruling on the case of Leo and Hercules. These two primates have their own lawyers arguing that they should be moved from a university lab to an animal sanctuary. She did change her mind after a while.

Animals have always intrigued us. Some people find them very intelligent and capable of friendship, jealousy and longing. That's enough to give them rights, isn't it? Not for people like Professor Carl Cohen of the University of Michigan. He says that rights are a concept special to the human moral code. And animals don't know anything about right and wrong. The academic points out: "Animals do not commit crimes; animals are not attacked for their moral views."

In any case, humans have become more sensitive to animal suffering throughout the years. In 1999, New Zealand granted basic rights to five great ape species. Their use in research, testing or teaching was banned in a move seen as the greatest legal success in animal rights history.

In 2002, in an unprecedented move in the European Union, Germany granted some rights to animals in its constitution.

The ambiguous relationship between people and animals can be perceived in language. In English the pronoun used for an animal is 'it'. But many people refer to their pets as 'he' or 'she'. It makes them more of an equal to us.

What do you think? Should animals have rights similar to humans?

词汇表

to be entitled 有资格的，有资格享受的
outlandish 奇异古怪的
a judge 一位法官
habeas corpus 人身保护权
to rule （动词）裁决
to argue 争辩
an animal sanctuary 一个动物庇护所、动物保护区
a moral code 一项道德规范
to commit crimes 犯罪
to grant basic rights 授予基本权力
legal 法律（上）的
unprecedented 前所未有的，没有先例的
constitution 宪法，大法
ambiguous 模糊的，不明确的