An adult chimp has killed a baby chimp at the LA Zoo. From the story:
The first chimpanzee baby born at the LA Zoo in 13 years was mauled to death Tuesday by an adult chimp in front of a crowd of visitors, including children, zoo officials said.
Did the baby chimp have a “right to life?” Ridiculous. Did the killing chimp violate the infant’s rights? Nonsensical, on its face. Was the chimp evil for exposing the human children to such violence? I can’t imagine anyone so thinking.
Yet, they are supposedly “persons.” But morality and adherence to duties are not part of chimp nature, despite their relatively high intelligence. Not true of us: Moral agency is an inherent part of being human.
That is why if I had commited the chimpicide, it would create an outcry of righteous moral outrage. I have human duties—again, there is no such thing as chimp duties—for which I can be held to account. That is a distinction with a moral difference.
