Unlocking the Cage

How far should animal rights extend? That is the fundamental question posed in this intriguing HBO-aired documentary by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. The focus is on the Nonhuman Rights Project, which aims to secure legal “personhood” for animals—or at least certain species—or, failing that, to use the judicial system to educate the public about the organization's mission. Unlocking the Cage follows attorney Steven Wise as he prods courts to issue a writ of habeas corpus—designed to free the wrongly imprisoned—on behalf of one of his nonhuman clients, thereby effectively recognizing the client's status as a legal person. Such a precedent could then be expansively employed, extended first to species such as apes, elephants, dolphins, and whales, and then perhaps to dogs, cats, and other animals. Eventually, Wise settles on several chimpanzee couples kept either as pets or for research purposes, who he argues should be freed or at least transferred to a sanctuary. Pennebaker and Hegedus follow Wise as he huddles with other lawyers and scientists specializing in animal behavior to craft court presentations in an effort to persuade judges to take what would be a revolutionary legal step. Unlocking the Cage offers no easy answers about the issues it raises concerning the ethical treatment of animals, but it make these arguments engaging food for thought by packaging them in what amounts to a legal thriller. Extras include a music video. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)