No Orangutan Writ of Habeas Corpus/ Orangutan Declared a Person

Animals, to me, have always been somewhat similar but always separate from each other in some ways. Both these articles touch on the idea that an orangutan has crossed the barrier of difference and has gained the right of being a person. Wesley J. Smith talks about in his article “No Orangutan Writ of Habeas Corpus” the first case dealing with the orangutan Sandra. Smith clearly states throughout his article that an orangutan being classified as a person would be “human exceptionalism being hit with a sledge hammer”, seems kind of harsh at first, but would make sense to some. Smith also recollects on the fact that this is not the first time that this has been attempted; the other time was unfortunate, as the orangutan died. Our second article titled “Orangutan Declared a Person by Argentine Court” is a follow up article stating that Sandra the orangutan has been declared a person, exactly one month later! Apparently during this court case, the judges unanimously declared the Sandra was a “non-human person who has some basic human rights.” Nevertheless, Smith probably got ahold of this article and went absolutely insane. Personally, I think that Sandra should stay, as she is, an orangutan. There was a comparison between this case and a case against SeaWorld and I couldn’t help but connect them. SeaWorld’s case was that orcas were slaves and should be released from captivity, while Sandra’s case is granting her personship. Sandra’s case includes the fact that she has proven cognitive ability and can function with emotions and relationships the same as humans can. With that said, orcas can do the same. Orcas have their own language to communicate among one another and clearly showed emotions when they were taken from their mothers. Why didn’t that case escalate into personship for orcas? They were declared slaves, the case dropped because slaves can only be humans. I find it strange how PETA finds differences with these cases and I don’t. So in conclusion, apparently human exceptionalism has been struck with a sledge hammer, and it definitely didn’t feel too good.