US Court says Elephants are not people
An animal rights organization had sought to remove Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo from their current home at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, arguing that their captivity was unjust.
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A legal attempt to relocate five elephants from a Colorado zoo to a sanctuary has been denied, with the court concluding that elephants do not qualify as people under the law.
An animal rights organization had sought to remove Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo from their current home at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, arguing that their captivity was unjust. The group pursued a habeas corpus petition—a legal process typically used to challenge unlawful imprisonment—on behalf of the animals, asserting that they deserved freedom.
However, the Colorado Supreme Court determined that the case hinged on whether elephants possess the same legal rights as humans. In a unanimous 6-0 ruling, the justices upheld a lower court's decision that habeas corpus applies exclusively to people and not to animals, regardless of their cognitive or emotional complexity.
Justice Maria Berkenkotter acknowledged the elephants’ "majestic" nature but affirmed that legally, they do not qualify as persons.
The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP), the organization behind the case, had filed the petition in 2023, advocating for the elephants to be transferred to a sanctuary. The group argued that, as highly intelligent and emotionally aware beings, the animals had a right to liberty. They claimed the elephants exhibited signs of distress, trauma, and chronic stress, equating their situation to imprisonment.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which opposed the petition, maintained that the elephants were well cared for and had the backing of a previous court ruling. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the zoo criticized NRP’s efforts, calling the lawsuit "frivolous" and accusing the organization of exploiting legal proceedings for fundraising.
NRP, in response, condemned the ruling as a reinforcement of injustice, arguing that "unless an individual is human, they have no recognized right to freedom." The organization compared its efforts to other social justice movements, acknowledging early legal setbacks as part of a broader struggle against deeply ingrained norms.
This is not the first time NRP has faced legal obstacles. A similar case in New York sought to free an elephant named Happy from the Bronx Zoo, but the court ruled against it, also concluding that the animal was not legally a person.