By Dr. Lori Marino
Last week, the world lost a visionary advocate for the animals. Steven M. Wise, the founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project, was a groundbreaking legal scholar whose historic cases on behalf of captive chimpanzees and elephants have changed the face of legal advocacy.
Steve’s work gained worldwide attention in 2013 when he filed a series of first-ever lawsuits on behalf of nonhuman animals (in this case captive chimpanzees), arguing that as cognitively complex, autonomous beings, they should be recognized as “legal persons” with the fundamental right to bodily liberty.
Thanks to Steve’s work, courts are now having to grapple with the fact that these highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive animals can no longer be treated simply as pieces of property that exist for the benefit of humans.
In 2018, when New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, denied Steve’s case on behalf of two chimpanzees, Tommy and Kiko, one of the judges Judge Eugene M. Fahey nonetheless wrote in his opinion:
“Does an intelligent nonhuman animal who thinks and plans and appreciates life as human beings do have the right to the protection of the law against arbitrary cruelties and enforced detentions visited on him or her? This is not merely a definitional question, but a deep dilemma of ethics and policy that demands our attention.
“To treat a chimpanzee as if he or she had no right to liberty protected by habeas corpus is to regard the chimpanzee as entirely lacking independent worth, as a mere resource for human use, a thing the value of which consists exclusively in its usefulness to others. Instead, we should consider whether a chimpanzee is an individual with inherent value who has the right to be treated with respect.”
Steve often said that he would likely not live long enough to see the day when the legal wall that separates us humans from all other animals would finally crumble. But he lived long enough and worked hard enough to see the first major cracks appearing in that wall. His work has demonstrated that the time has arrived for courts to recognize that certain animals must be recognized as having legal rights appropriate to their species, like the right to bodily liberty and bodily integrity.
He enjoyed remarking that “all my clients are innocent.”Steve won significant legal precedents that are the foundation of the future work of the Nonhuman Rights Project and all legal advocacy for animals. He had the moral courage to stand up for real-world legal rights for animals and argue for them in courts of law all over the United States and in the face of heavy opposition from industries that depend on the exploitation of animals. He was a brilliant writer and committed teacher who helped develop the field of animal law globally.
Before founding the Whale Sanctuary Project, I had the pleasure and privilege of working with Steve to provide the scientific basis for the first suits he filed on behalf of four chimpanzees. And on a personal level, I will remember him for his warmth, his unassuming wit (he enjoyed remarking that “all my clients are innocent”) and, perhaps most of all, for his commitment.
All of us who have known him and loved him will miss him dearly. But his work will continue, here at home and around the world.