Orangutan who was granted human rights in landmark legal case flies to US for more ‘dignified’ life
By Stepanie Cockroft, September 28, 2019
An orangutan who was granted the same legal rights as a human in a landmark court case has finally arrived in the US after spending 20 years in an Argentine zoo.
Sandra – a hybrid orangutan of half Sumatran, half Bornean – became known across the world in 2015 when she was found to be Argentina’s first “nonhuman person with the right to liberty”.
But until this week – nearly five years later – Sandra remained at the site of the zoo, which closed in 2016 following reports of animal cruelty.
The 33-year-old has now arrived in Kansas and, after a quarantine period, is expected to become the new resident of the Center for Great Apes in Florida, a sanctuary much better suited to her needs.
Judge Elena Liberatori, who ruled over the landmark decision, said she will now be able to spend the rest of her life “in a more dignified situation.”
She said she wanted her ruling to send a message “that animals are sentient beings and that the first right they have is our obligation to respect them.”
Sandra was born in an East German zoo and sold to Buenos Aires in 1995.
She has lived most of her life in a basketball court-sized cell at the zoo, in conditions protested by animal rights groups as inadequate
She had a daughter in 1999, but the baby was taken away from her and sold to an animal park in China.
An Argentine court approved her transfer to Florida’s Center for Great Apes in 2017, though her journey was delayed by applications for US permits.
The 100-acre sanctuary is home to chimpanzees and orangutans which have been freed from circuses, labs, zoos and private collections.
Sandra will join 21 other orangutans, and will be free to move between 11 outdoor areas where the great apes live.
Michael Jackson‘s former pet chimpanzee, Bubbles, is among several famous residents.
“We’re eager to meet her, she’s a lovely orangutan” said Patti Ragan, the Center’s founder.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Ragan said she was happy that Sandra’s story was bringing public attention to orangutans, one of the world’s most endangered animals.
But she added that the sanctuary was working to ensure this heightened publicity wouldn’t impact on Sandra’s transition into her new home.
“We don’t want any distractions,” said Ms Ragan. “We just want her to have peace when she gets here”.
See Also: Orangutan which spent 20 years in a zoo granted the same legal rights as humans
Source: Evening Standard/a>
