--- description: An orangutan named Sandra has been granted certain legal rights by a court in Argentina. title: Sandra the Orangutan Granted Basic Rights image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b5cbe833b8c911/69877066cd68486ea5098c7f/rtxvjjy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Argentina](/tag/argentina/) ## Argentina Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # In Argentina, a Court Grants Sandra the Orangutan Basic Rights by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2014 4:50 AM CUT  An orangutan named Sandra, covered with a blanket, gestures inside its cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo, December 8, 2010. An orangutan named Sandra, covered with a blanket, gestures inside its cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo, December 8, 2010.Marcos Brindicci—Reuters by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2014 4:50 AM CUT An orangutan named Sandra has been granted certain legal [rights](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30571577 "undefined") by a court in Argentina. Lawyers for Argentina’s Association of Professional Lawyers for Animal Rights (Afada) argued that Sandra was a “non-human person” and was being detained illegally in Buenos Aires’ zoo, the BBC reports. The case rested on whether the court decided the orangutan was a “person” or a “thing” and after judges rejected the writ several times, they finally ruled the ape had rights that needed protecting. In a similar [case](http://time.com/3619581/chimpanzee-tommy-human-animal-rights/ "undefined") earlier this month, a New York court decided that a chimpanzee did not have legal personhood and therefore was not entitled to human rights. If Sandra’s case isn’t appealed, the orangutan will live out her days enjoying greater freedom in a sanctuary in Brazil. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30571577 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3643541/argentina-sandra-orangutan-basic-rights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3643541/argentina-sandra-orangutan-basic-rights/"},"headline":"In Argentina, a Court Grants Sandra the Orangutan Basic Rights","datePublished":"2014-12-22T04:50:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:02:59.224Z","description":"The ape has spent the last 20 years in a zoo","url":"https://time.com/3643541/argentina-sandra-orangutan-basic-rights/","keywords":["Argentina","Human Rights","Courts","Zoo","freedom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b5cbe833b8c911/69877066cd68486ea5098c7f/rtxvjjy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b5cbe833b8c911/69877066cd68486ea5098c7f/rtxvjjy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An orangutan named Sandra, covered with a blanket, gestures inside its cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo","caption":"An orangutan named Sandra, covered with a blanket, gestures inside its cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo","creditText":"Marcos Brindicci—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/argentina/","name":"Argentina"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3643541/argentina-sandra-orangutan-basic-rights/","name":"In Argentina, a Court Grants Sandra the Orangutan Basic Rights"}}]}] ```