The Nonhuman Rights Project

Why the Nonhuman Rights Project Is Unique

The Nonhuman Rights Project is unlike any other organization in the world. We are the only group fighting for actual LEGAL rights for members of species other than our own.
Why ‘Animal Rights’ Is a Contradiction in Terms

Hundreds of organizations say they work for “animal rights.” But the only animal with legal rights is the human animal. No other animal has any rights at all.
Are You a Legal ‘Person’ or a Legal ‘Thing’?

In Western law, every nonhuman animal has always been regarded as a legal “thing.” Only humans are viewed as legal “persons.”
What Kinds of Rights Are We Seeking for Nonhuman Animals?

We begin by seeking two kinds of fundamental rights for our nonhuman plaintiffs: bodily liberty and bodily integrity. (Do not confuse these fundamental rights of nonhuman animals with so-called “human rights.”)
How We Select Our Plaintiffs

There are three criteria that determine how we select plaintiffs:
How We Go About Filing Our Cases

By the end of 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project will have launched the first in a series of lawsuits that demand that American state high courts do the following:

The Nonhuman Rights Project is the only organization working toward actual LEGAL rights for members of species other than our own. Our mission is to change the common law status of at least some nonhuman animals from mere “things,” which lack the capacity to possess any legal right, to “persons,” who possess such fundamental rights as bodily integrity and bodily liberty, and those other legal rights to which evolving standards of morality, scientific discovery, and human experience entitle them. Our first cases are being prepared for filing in 2013. Your support of this work is deeply appreciated.

Steve Wise’s Top Talks

The Dyson Lecture
Steve gave a talk entitled “The Nonhuman Rights Project’s Struggle for Nonhuman Personhood.” to students at the Pace Law School in New York

The ARZone Podcast
Steve discussed legal rights for nonumans in this interview with the Animal Rights Zone in May 2012.

WildTime Radio
Steve discussed legal rights for nonumans on WildTime Radio in July 2012.

Animal Law Series - Australia
Steve gave the keynote address at the 2007 Animal Law Lecture Series, an initiative by Voiceless, the animal protection institute, in Australia.

Wisconsin Public Radio
Steve discussed the Nonhuman Rights Project with Kathleen Dunn. The program runs one hour.

Highlights

What Kinds of Rights for Nonhumans?

Steve Wise talks about proportionality rights for nonhuman animals – just as children and people who are deemed insane, for example, have rights that are proportional to their capabilities. (One of a series of interviews recorded by Gooseberry Productions.)

New Iberia Chimpanzees Update

The remaining 61 “government-owned” chimpanzees slated to be retired from the New Iberia Research Center are going to have to wait until September before they are finally moved to their new home at Chimp Haven in Keithville, LA.

Why Humans Always Place Themselves at the Pinnacle of Creation

Two thousand years ago, the Greek scholar Aristotle developed the idea of the Great Chain of Being (scala natura) – a hierarchy of nature that starts with rocks at the bottom, and rises through plants to (nonhuman) animals to humans to angels to God. The Great Chain doesn’t hold up in the world of science, [...]

‘Can’t You See What I’m Saying?’

We humans aren’t the only ones who gesture wildly with our arms when we “talk,” or use a wide combination of ways to get the attention of someone else.

Elephants on HBO with Lily Tomlin

If you’re already outraged by what Lily Tomlin calls "the bizarre practice of caging wild animals for public display," the HBO documentary An Apology to Elephants won’t necessarily tell you a lot more than you already know. Still, it’s great to see the former star of Laugh-In not only as the narrator of this heart-touching [...]

Chimpan-see

Two recent studies from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany are allowing scientists to gain further insight into how chimpanzees view the world.