A historic moment in animal rights is on the cards: Spanish parliament has put forward support for the rights to life and freedom for great apes. This is the first time that any legislation for such rights for non-human animals has been called for at a national level.

Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project says. “This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defence of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity,”

Despite not using great apes in experiments in Spain, the current laws do not prevent them from happening. While the proposed law is not yet in force, there is majority, cross-party support for the legislation and officials anticipate it will be in full force within a year. Also covered within this legislation would be keeping apes for circuses, television commercials or filming.

More associated with bull-fighting than animal rights, this fantastic, progressive move will go down in the history books as the start of total animal liberation.

Your ‘looking forward to total animal liberation so I can have a lie in’ Matt

Image: BBC News | CC

Well, I know what I’ll be getting my lil cousins for their birthdays – an adventure book about animal rights, called The Great Escape. If the sisters, brothers or any other young’uns in your life love animals, they should be pretty impressed with Natalie Haynes’ new book. Follow Millie, who goes vegetarian and anti-vivisection after seeing a PETA table (no she’s not on our payroll) then rescues cats from a laboratory while bored helping her dad clean windows nearby. Honestly, this sounds pretty tempting to read myself, but then again I am big kid at heart…

Image: Simon Says / Creative Commons

If the animals could speak, they would probably say, among other things, “Pam, we love you!” The sexy Baywatch babe saw her chance at spreading the cruelty-free word in a recent interview with The Guardian and grabbed it with both hands, without mentioning much else bar the odd cute comment on jelly beans.

She unashamedly storms right in with the animal rights message in the first answer she gives, claiming her happiest moment in life is, “When PETA picked me to be on their first Times Square anti-fur billboard”. Wow. I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say, “Pam, you rock.” View the full interview click here.