In responding to the Collins-Goodall collaboration, the NY Times reported a key characteristic of the Anti-Specieism movement that merits noting.

“…‘I want the public to be aware,’ said Jennifer Whitaker, the executive director of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, ‘that there are reasons to celebrate, but not all of the chimpanzees will be retired.’”

And many advocates of the animal welfare movement will not stop in fighting for the fate of chimpanzees.

‘What the chimpanzee has done is to prove there is no hard and fast line dividing us from the rest of the animal kingdom,’ Dr. Goodall said. ‘Once you admit that we’re not the only beings with personalities, minds, capable of thought and emotions, it raises ethical issues about the ways we use and abuse so many other sentient, sapient beings – animal beings – every day.’”

An extension of rights to any group is usually a great achievement, but there will always be some animal rights activists that will never stop. As with any view, there are always people who will seek to extend the ideology one step further, and, in this case, demand rights for just one more class of beings.

WORLD magazine recently reported that “a controversial proposal by Los Angeles officials has some Angelinos wondering whether they will ever get rid of their feral cat problems. New rules proposed by L.A. Animal Services director Brenda Barnette would give feral cats some semblance of property rights. Under current law, homeowners have the right to remove from their property any animal that uses the yard as a bathroom or causes damages. Under Barnette’s proposal, the City of Los Angeles would strip homeowners of that power, recognizing a cat’s right to do its business with impunity wherever it likes.”