Great Apes and Language Research | 303 growing influence of the movement for great ape rights A tremendous challenge for those who defend the interests of great apes is to deal with the enormous threats faced by the remaining great apes in the wild There may be no viable populations remaining within the next two decades Major threats are the logging of forests, hunting for meat—the bushmeat crisis—and diseases such as Ebola The United Nations has launched the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP) “to lift the threat of imminent extinction” faced by gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans (see www.unep.org/grasp) Conservation organizations refer in particular to the importance of conserving species in their ecological role, and in their aesthetic, scientific, and economic value Organizations such as the Great Ape Project add a special dimension by stating that each great ape is a valuable individual who needs to be protected because of his welfare interests as an individual The Great Ape Project hopes for the passing of a declaration of great ape rights by the United Nations, similar to declarations for children, women, and the disabled Further Reading Anonymous (Ed.) (s.d.) Serving a life sentence for your viewing pleasure! The case for ending the use of great apes in film and television Washington DC: The Chimpanzee Collaboratory Anonymous (Ed.) (2003) The evolving legal status of chimpanzees Reprinted from Animal Law, Portland: Lewis & Clark Law School Anonymous (Ed.) (2003) The Great Ape Project census: Recognition for the uncounted Portland: Great Ape Project (GAP) Books Cavalieri, P (Ed.) (1996) Etica & animali, (Special issue devoted to The Great Ape Project) Cavalieri, P & Singer, P (Eds.) (1993) The Great Ape Project: Equality beyond Humanity London: Fourth Estate Harrison, P (2008, November 5) Great Ape Debate leads to EU testing ban proposal http://www.reuters.com/article/environ mentNews/idUSTRE4A45TL20081105 (accessed December 26 2008) Hutchins, M., Smith, B., Fulk, R., Perkins, L., Reinartz, G., & Wharton, D (2001) Rights or welfare: A response to The Great Ape Project In Beck, B B., Stoinski, T S., Hutchins, M., Maple, T L., Norton, B., Rowan, A., et al (Eds.), Great apes & humans: The ethics of coexistence Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press Peterson, D (2003) Eating apes Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press Peterson, D., & Goodall, J (1993) Visions of Caliban: On chimpanzees and people Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Singer, P (2006, May 22) The great ape debate unfolds in Europe http://search.japantimes co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20060522a1.html (accessed July 15, 2006) Wise, Steven M (2000) Rattling the cage: Toward legal rights for animals Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Koen Margodt GREAT APES AND LANGUAGE RESEARCH Language research with nonhuman great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) allows for unique interaction between nonhuman animals and humans In principle, it offers a distinctive window to the understanding of these animals’ mental lives and welfare preferences; however, to some in the academic world, ape language research is considered to be highly controversial From the late 19th century until around the 1950s, several attempts were undertaken to teach nonhuman great apes