“Many people argue that sentience should be a criteria for rights…if I were the Chief Justice of the Universe I might agree. But the fact is that I can’t find an argument in Western law that supports such a thing.“ – Steve Wise
“[I]f you start with gorillas and orangutans and chimpanzees… I think you’re going to get more people coming on board for the basic cause, which is to provide animals with more protections and rights under the law.“
“Maybe we can slip down that slippery slope so that the whole planet is respected and cared for rather than exploited.“
“There is one movement for giving personhood to great apes. I find that difficult to understand because I understand personhood to be something that can only be intrinsic to humans.“
“The idea that the animals that matter are the ones that have minds similar to ours, I think is dangerous…what it does is it reinforces that hierarchy.“ – Gary Francione
“I support the idea of changing the concept of all animals from property to something else.“
“The first criteria would be those who are closest to human beings. And the great apes are closest to us from an evolutionary point of view and also the fact they come from the same common origin as we do.“ – Pedro Pozas Terrados
“By drawing the line I am reinforcing a dominance hierarchy. I am a lawyer, I’m not a philosopher…I want to operate within the legal system. The legal system that we have now is thoroughgoingly speciesist. So I can either make a thoroughgoingly speciesist argument or I can lose. “ – Steve Wise
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