Of Rights and Apes

The New York Times reports that the Spanish Parliament is about to take up a bill granting limited human rights to the great apes--chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, and bonobos. The bill would prevent torture, including medical testing, and imprisonment of apes, as in circuses. Additionally, an ape may only be killed in self-defense. I for one am skeptical of the notion of inherent "human rights." All rights exist only through the real or implied contracts of the societies that we live in, and those contracts are subject to change or become void. But I am for the expansion of decency and compassion throughout our civilization. If the Spanish people have decided that it is a worthy endeavor to treat apes with some of the same dignities afforded to humans, I am all for it.