US court rules, elephants are not humans
A bid to free five elephants from a Colorado zoo has been rejected after a court ruled that the elephants are not people.
An animal rights group argued that Missy, Kimba, Lucky, Lulu and Jumbo were effectively imprisoned in the zoo, and applied to transfer them to an elephant sanctuary.
It tried to bring a habeas corpus claim on behalf of the animals – a legal process that allows a person to challenge their custody in court.
The Colorado Supreme Court stated that the case was limited to “whether or not an elephant is a human being” and therefore has the same rights of liberty as a human being – ultimately deciding that they did not.
It ruled 6–0 in favor of a previous district court decision that held that the state’s habeas corpus process “applies only to persons, not non-human animals”.
This is true “no matter how cognitively, psychologically or socially sophisticated they are,” state Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter said in her remarks. ruling,
While she said the five elderly African elephants were “magnificent”, the court ruled that the claim could not be made “because elephants are not persons”.
The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) petitioned to relocate the elephants from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a “suitable elephant sanctuary” in 2023.
The group argued that animals have a right to freedom because they are emotionally complex and intelligent animals.
It claimed that the elephants showed signs of “trauma, brain damage and chronic stress” and were effectively “imprisoned” in the zoo.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo rejected the claim, arguing that the elephants had received remarkable care, and was supported by a district court.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo described NRP’s lawsuit as “frivolous” and said it had “wasted” time and money on the case.
It accused the group of “abusing court systems for fundraising” and claimed that its goal was to “get people to donate to their cause by constantly publicizing sensational court cases with constant calls for supporters to donate.” To inspire”.
The NRP said the decision would “perpetuate a manifest injustice that unless a person is a human being, he or she has no right to liberty”.
“Like other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge the established status quo that allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, Lulu and Jambo to endure a lifetime of mental and physical suffering,” the group said in a statement Is.” statement.
NRP’s previous bid to free an elephant named Happy from New York’s Bronx Zoo was rejected after a court ruled that she was not legally a person.
