Do animals have rights?- U.S. court rules that monkeys can’t own copy right

Some passages in the Holy Bible and the Qur’an underscore the need for people to exhibit compassion for animals and promote their well-being.

Proverbs 27:23, for example, says: “Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds’’; and the extract, among others in the Bible, enjoin people to look after their animals.

The Qur’an also abhors cruelty against animals and enjoins people to minister to specific needs of their animals.

Besides, Prophet Muhammad instructs people to show compassion to animals.

“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being,’’ the prophet is quoted as saying in Hadith Mishkat, Book 6, Chapter 7, 8:178.

It is, perhaps, against this backdrop that some observers bemoan the poor state of animals in several zoological gardens across the country, as the animals are apparently underfed while they continue to suffer from all forms of neglect.

For example, the plight of different species of animals at the 60-year-old Jos Zoological Garden is particularly appalling and worrisome to many concerned tourists.

A survey, which was recently conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), revealed that most of the animals at the Jos zoo were apparently malnourished, with the lions looking particularly emaciated.

Investigations revealed that the chimpanzees at the zoo were looking very sick, as most of them looked dispirited, disconsolate and were largely indifferent to the gestures of visitors around their enclosures.

Some of the chimpanzees were even so slow to pounce on bananas and groundnuts hurled into their cages due to malnourishment and lack of care.

The survey noted that the condition of birds in the zoo was particularly worrisome, as the usually noisy ones now preferred to perch quietly at obscure corners.

In addition, the garden, which used to be a popular tourist destination for visitors from different parts of Nigeria, has somewhat become desolate, with very few tourists visiting the place once in a while.

Further investigations revealed that most of the cages, which used to house the wild animals, had become empty, making the facility even more uninteresting and deserted for the few curious visitors

Corroborating such observations, Mr Bala John, a tourist, expressed sadness over the bad state of the zoo, which he said, was usually his first port of call anytime he was in Jos.

“The Jos zoo was usually a beehive of activities for tourists from within and outside Jos, but all that has now become history and this is very sad,’’ he said.

Besides, John expressed concern over the government’s apathy towards the state of the tourism industry in spite of the fact that tourism was a very important sector of the economy.

“The tourism sector has the potential to generate a lot of revenue, generate jobs and boost the economy; but we do not seem to give it the needed attention.

“It baffles me a lot that government has decided to abandon tourism just because we have all our eyes on oil, which will soon expire.

“If the government in Plateau, for instance, can dedicate a little percentage of its annual budget to developing the tourism sector; I can assure you that the state will be the envy of others because nature has blessed us with everything.

“The Jos zoo, which used to attract a lot of tourists in the 80s and 90s, is now in a sorry state.

“So, to me, the government should invest more in tourism because it is one sector that does not depreciate; it will create a lot of jobs and boost our economy,’’ he noted.

Expressing similar viewpoints, Mrs Sarah Gyang, a regular visitor at the zoo, grumbled that most of the animals there now looked malnourished and unappealing to sightseers.

She also decried the unhygienic state of the garden, saying that the environment was no longer attractive enough to excite tourists.

“The essence of visiting a zoo is for one to take out time and relax; one can only relax when the environment is serene and good looking.

“Also, one can only enjoy a visit to the zoo when the animals are looking fresh, agile and healthy.

“Unfortunately, the management of Jos zoo has since abandoned the old and better ways of making tourists enjoy their visit and everyone has scampered away.

“Nobody, including the younger ones, is interested to come to the zoo because the excitement is no longer there. The animals are not agile and there are no new animals to complement the old ones in the zoo,’’ Gyang added.

The Manager of Jos zoo, Mr Dibal Adamu, refused to comment on the zoo, saying: “Ì can’t speak with you without permission; I am sure you know that.’’

However, the pathetic situation of such animals is not significantly different in other zoological gardens across the country, judging by observations in other zoos; Kano Zoological Garden, for instance.

Alhaji Aliyu Yola, the Director of Kano Zoological Garden, also known as Audu Bako Zoo, however attributed the difficulties in ensuring adequate care of the animals to paucity of funds.

He urged the state government to provide adequate funds to the agency so as to enable it to provide adequate feeding arrangements for the 249 animals that were currently in the zoo.

At the moment, Yola said that the allocation given to the agency was grossly inadequate to cater for the animals’ wellbeing and carry out other activities effectively.

According to him, the garden is also home to over 100 crocodiles in addition to other species of reptiles.

“Currently, we have 59 different animal species and 249 individual animals in the zoo.

“The number has reduced, compared to the figure four years ago when we had 63 different species of animals,’’ he said.

According to him, the prevailing economic realities have somewhat made it imperative for the government to increase funding to the agency.

“Prices of everything have gone up; so also is the cost of feeding the animals.

“Many of the animals brought into the zoo a few years back have now attained maturity and so the amount of food they have to eat has consequently increased, while some animals have multiplied.

“This is the reason why we collaborate with various abattoirs across the city and they provide us with carcasses of animals that died before they are slaughtered but veterinary officials have to certify them fit for consumption by our animals in the zoo.

“We also collect stillborn animals from the abattoirs, all in an effort to supplement what we give the animals here.

“Formerly, we used to rely on our internally generated revenue to defray the cost of feeding the animals but the administration of former Gov. Musa Kwankwaso introduced a policy whereby the revenue generated was remitted to the government coffers,’’ he said.

On restocking the zoo, the director said over N40 million would be required to restock the zoo with different species of animals.

He said that the management of the zoo had forwarded a request for funds to the state government for its consideration and approval.

Nevertheless, Yola underscored the need to restock the zoo with new animals, saying that such a venture would attract more visitors to the zoo and in essence, generate more revenue for the state.

“Over the years, we have been looking for an opportunity to restock the zoo with new animals.

“Some of the animals have no partners; they are either all males or only females,’’ he said.

Yola said that the acquisition of additional animal species was necessary in order to make the zoo to meet international standard.

Some religious leaders, however, warn against the spiritual consequences of keeping animals in a zoo or domesticating them without necessarily ensuring their wellbeing via adequate feeding and care.

Malam Ahmed Musa, a Kano-based Islamic cleric, argued that it was un-Islamic for any Muslim to keep an animal without providing it with proper feeding and care.

“Islam emphasises the need for Muslims who keep animals to always ensure that the animals are properly fed and cared for.

“Islam seriously frowns at the attitude of Muslims who keep animals without feeding them and taking care of them.

“It even stresses that if a person cannot feed and ensure proper care of the animals, the animals should be released and allowed to fend for themselves.

“Animals are also living things and they need food, water and other things required by any living organism to survive and whenever they are sick, they also need proper medication,’’ the cleric said.

Such sentiments tend to justify the outcry of some concerned conservationists over the killing of a lion which recently escaped from the Jos zoo.

The preservationists insist that the lion ought to have been tranquilised and brought back to the zoo instead of its outright killing.

Now, while the right of the animal is being narrowed down to feeding and welfare in this part of the world, the question of whether animals should have right or not became a legal battle in San Francisco, the United States of America. This right is not about foods and care, but that a monkey took photographs and a group of animal lovers are asking the court to grant money to the monkey for copy right infringement!

Court rules that monkeys can’t own copy right

A macaque monkey who took now-famous selfie photographs cannot be declared the copyright owner of the photos, a San Francisco federal judge said in a

Herald & Review news reported that US District Judge, William Orrick, said in federal court in San Francisco that “while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act.”

The lawsuit filed last year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sought a court order allowing PETA to represent the monkey and let it to administer all proceeds from the photos for the benefit of the monkey, which it identified as 6-year-old Naruto, and other crested macaques living in a reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi with an unattended camera owned by British nature photographer David Slater, who asked the court to dismiss the case. Slater says the British copyright obtained for the photos by his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., should be honoured worldwide.

PETA sued Slater and his San Francisco-based self-publishing company, Blurb, which published a book called ‘Wildlife Personalities’ that includes the ‘monkey selfie’ photos.

The photos have been widely distributed elsewhere by outlets, including Wikipedia, which contend that no one owns the copyright to the images because they were taken by an animal, not a person.

Slater described himself as a nature photographer who is deeply concerned about animal welfare in court documents and said it should be up to the U.S. Congress and not a federal court to decide whether copyright law applies to non-human animals.

Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA, said the organisation will continue fighting for the monkey’s rights.

“Despite this setback, legal history was made today because we argued to a federal court why Naruto should be the owner of the copyright rather than being seen as a piece of property himself,” Kerr said. “This case is also exposing the hypocrisy of those who exploit animals for their own gain.”

So, how do we conclude this development? Do animals have right? The answer would ultimately be the individual’s conviction of what right is and who should have it.

QUOTES

The chimpanzees at the 60-yr-old Jos zoo were looking very sick as most of them looked dispirited, disconsolate and were largely indifferent to the gestures of visitors around their enclosures. Some of the chimpanzees were even so slow to pounce on bananas and groundnuts hurled into their cages due to malnourishment and lack of care

We now collaborate with various abattoirs across the city and they provide us with carcasses of animals that died before they are slaughtered – but veterinary officials have to certify them fit for consumption by our animals in the zoo. Also, we collect stillborn animals from the abattoirs, all in efforts to supplement what we give the animals here – Director, Audu Bako Zoo, Kano.

Despite this setback, legal history was made in the case because we argued to a federal court why the monkey, Naruto, should be the owner of the copyright rather than being seen as a piece of property himself. This case is also exposing the hypocrisy of those who exploit animals for their own gain – Jeff Kerr