The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against the Nonhuman Rights Project's bid to classify elephants as legal persons, upholding a lower court decision that maintains the animals do not possess the same liberty rights as humans.
Court Declares Elephants Legally Non-Human, Denies Freedom Plea
Court Declares Elephants Legally Non-Human, Denies Freedom Plea
A Colorado Supreme Court ruling has concluded that elephants do not have legal personhood, rejecting an animal rights group's attempt to release five elephants from a zoo.
The Colorado Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on the legal status of five elephants currently residing at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, determining that they are not classified as legal persons. The decision came after the Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) filed for a habeas corpus claim seeking the relocation of the elephants—Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo—to a sanctuary, arguing they were being held in "imprisonment" at the zoo.
In its 6-0 ruling, the court confirmed that its habeas corpus process only applied to individuals classified as persons, regardless of the cognitive and emotional complexities displayed by the elephants. Justice Maria Berkenkotter underscored that even though the African elephants are "majestic," they lack the legal status to claim liberty rights akin to humans.
The NRP contended that the elephants exhibited signs of trauma and chronic stress, thus deserving of freedom. However, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo defended its treatment of the elephants, claiming they received exceptional care, and characterized the lawsuit as an abuse of the legal system, alleging it to be a strategy for fundraising at the expense of the legal process.
Following the ruling, the NRP expressed disappointment, arguing that the decision perpetuates injustice for nonhuman animals by denying them rights to liberty. They maintained that challenges against established legal doctrines are common in the early stages of social justice movements, suggesting that ongoing efforts will persist as they advocate for more rights for nonhumans.
This case follows a similar trajectory seen with another ruling, where a court denied a separate bid to declare Happy the elephant at the Bronx Zoo as a legal person. The conversation surrounding animal rights and legal personhood continues, as advocates push against the status quo for the welfare of nonhuman animals.
