Should a captive chimpanzee have the same rights as a `` legal person '' ? That 's the debate set to unfold after an activist group filed lawsuits on behalf of four chimpanzees , asking the New York Supreme Court to grant them the `` right to bodily liberty . '' `` When we go to court on behalf of the first chimpanzee plaintiffs , we 'll be asking judges to recognize , for the first time , that these cognitively complex , autonomous beings have the basic legal right to not be imprisoned , '' said Steven M. Wise , founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project . According to the group , the four chimpanzees are all held in New York state : . • Tommy , 26 , is living in a cage on a trailer lot in Gloversville . • Kiko , 26 , formerly worked in the entertainment industry and is now living in Niagara Falls on private property , where he is caged . • Hercules and Leo , two young males , are owned by New Iberia Research Center and used in a locomotion research experiment in the Anatomy Department at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook . `` Not long ago , people generally agreed that human slaves could not be legal persons , but were simply the property of their owners , '' Wise said . `` We will assert , based on clear scientific evidence , that it 's time to take the next step and recognize that these nonhuman animals can not continue to be exploited as the property of their human 'owners . ' `` Neither the owner of Tommy nor the owner of Kiko has responded to CNN 's requests for comment . But Stony Brook University spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow said the university `` has not seen any legal papers related to this matter and therefore is unable to comment . '' Morality : It 's not just for humans . What is personhood ? `` To be a 'legal person , ' one does n't need to be a human being or even a biological being . A corporation is a legal person , '' wrote Joyce Tischler , co-founder of the Animal Legal Defense Fund . Even if the chimpanzees do n't understand what a lawsuit is , they benefit from being directly represented , she said . `` We see that in children . They can be removed from an abusive home and be protected , even though the child might not be able to formulate those desires and the issues represented in the court of law , '' Tischler told CNN . She added that Spain 's parliament passed a resolution in 2008 that deemed great apes to be considered legal persons . So why not file suit on behalf of all animals ? `` Lawsuits have to address a real problem faced by an individual plaintiff . You can not sue on behalf of all animals everywhere , '' Tischler said . The lawsuits are asking for the four chimpanzees to be moved to a sanctuary `` where they can live out their days with others of their kind in an environment as close to the wild as is possible in North America , '' the Nonhuman Rights Project said . The group said it plans to file more lawsuits across the country on behalf of captive animals `` who are scientifically proven to be self aware and autonomous , '' such as elephants , dolphins and whales . Are we really different from animals ?
The Nonhuman Rights Project is filing suits on behalf of four captive chimpanzees . The owners of the captive chimpanzees have not commented on the lawsuits . The lawsuits seek the ' ' ` ` right to reproductive liberty '' and their placement in a sanctuary . The activist group says it plans to file more suits on behalf of elephants , birds and whales .