NY judge rules chimps are not people

A New York State judge has upheld a lower court ruling in a case involving a  Niagara Falls, New York chimpanzee.

A group calling itself The Nonhuman Rights Project has been fighting to get Kiko the chimp the same legal status of a human in order to win his freedom.

Kiko is a 33 year old chimp owned by Niagara Falls primate specialist Carmen Presti.

But in his ruling, Appeals Court Justice Eugene Fahey admits it was a tough decision, one he writes "we will not be able to ignore because it speaks to our relationship with all the life around us. "

Fahey adding while a chimp is not a person, there is no doubt it is not merely a thing.