Pets Hunters

Chimp not a person, Austrian court rules

Austria's Supreme Court ruled that a chimpanzee named Matthew Hiasl Pan cannot be declared a person.

The shelter where Matthew has lived for 25 years is going bankrupt, threatening to leave him homeless. Matthew and another chimp at the shelter, Rosi, were captured as babies in Sierra Leone in 1982 and smuggled to Austria for use in pharmaceutical experiments. Customs officers intercepted the shipment and turned the chimps over to the shelter.

Donors have offered to help support Matthew, but under Austrian law, only a person can receive personal gifts.

Source: AP