Cupp, Richard L., Focusing on Human Responsibility Rather than Legal Personhood for Nonhuman Animals (2016). 33 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 517 (2016); Pepperdine University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 17. Available for download at SSRN.

“This essay supports an emphasis on evolving standards of human responsibility for animals’ welfare and critiques the concept of legal personhood for chimpanzees set forth in the plaintiff’s brief in the State of New York Supreme Court, County of New York lawsuit The Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. v. Lavery. The essay is being published alongside a brief by Professor Laurence Tribe supporting concepts in the lawsuit and alongside the Nonhuman Rights Project’s case brief.”