Review: Extending moral rights to distant cousins

We take for granted the legal, ethical and moral rules that govern us. Most
societies forbid kidnapping and assault. The Great Ape Project (Fourth
Estate, pp 312, £9.99 pbk) argues that we need to rethink our
attitudes, and recognise the rights of chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans
to autonomy and a peaceful existence. The arguments are persuasive the ideas
are exciting. Contributors include Jared Diamond, Jane Goodall and Rochard
Dawkins – an extract from his essay appeared in New Scienctist, 5 June.