Sandra, a 29-year-old orangutan, is due to be released from a zoo in Buenos Aires after a court ruled that she was legally a 'non-human' person.

The Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights argued that due to the her intelligence she should be granted human rights and released from captivity.

The organisation's lawyer spoke to La Nacion:

"This opens the way not only for other great apes, but also for other sentient beings which are unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in zoos, circuses, water parks and scientific laboratories."

Scientists at Buenos Aires Zoo are unhappy about the ruling, which they say is mistaken.

The case could set precedent for similar rulings on other captive animals in the country.