"36-year-old Miss Stibbe and the Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories have filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg."The animal sanctuary in Vienna where Matthew is taken care of for 4,000 pounds a month is bankrupt and may be forced to close. Some have offered to help share the expenses if the facility is closed, but only a human may be the recipient of personal gifts in Austria. However, the activists are concerned that if he leaves Austria, he will not be protected legally against animal cruelty.
"Miss Stibbe, who is from Brighton but has lived in Vienna for several years, says she is not trying to get the chimp declared a human, just a person."
The legal team of Matthew and Stibbe press the question of whether chimps are also the "bearer of human rights."
"A spokesman for the court in Strasbourg said: 'Any application regarding this chimpanzee will be considered at a primary level by a magistrate and a lawyer before we decide whether it deserves a full-blown hearing.'"
Unborn children up to 24 weeks are not the "bearers of human rights" under Austrian law. They are not protected legally and may be terminated without parental consent by a mother as young as 14.
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