Conceding that apes are persons could be expensive, says an Australian philosopher, as we would have to police ape societies to prevent assault and murder. Writing in Oxford’s Practical Ethics blog, Dr Steve Clarke says that “If we take the idea that non human great apes have the right to life then surely we have a responsibility to police all ape communities to uphold the right to life, in the same way that we try to ensure that the right to human life is upheld, by policing human societies.”

Two objections immediately arise. First, that it would be too expensive. Chimpanzees and bonobos are a feisty lot and kill each other and other apes. But, writes Dr Clarke, a person is a person, and refusing to protect ape persons against violence would be “highly discriminatory”. One solution would be to “redeploy police from the safest human communities to the more violent ape communities.” Second, apes are wild animals and should not be interfered with. This is understandable, he says, “But animals can only be wild animals if humans don’t attempt to uphold their rights.” ~ Practical Ethics, Feb 26