A legal attempt to secure the release of five elephants from a US zoo has failed after judges ruled that habeas corpus protections apply only to humans, AFP reported. The case, brought by animal rights advocates from the Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP), sought to relocate the elephants—Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo—from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado to an elephant sanctuary.
Colorado Supreme Court Rules Against NRP
On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld that the state’s habeas corpus laws do not extend to animals, regardless of their cognitive, psychological, or social complexity. “Colorado’s habeas statute only applies to persons, and not to nonhuman animals,” the judges stated in their ruling.
Case Focused on Legal Status, Not Animal Welfare
The court clarified that the case was not about the elephants’ treatment but rather whether an elephant could be legally recognized as a “person” with rights under habeas corpus. “The legal question here boils down to whether an elephant is a person… and because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim,” the judges explained.
NRP’s Previous Legal Defeat in New York
This is not the first time NRP has faced a legal setback. The organization previously attempted to free an elephant named Happy from a New York zoo, but courts similarly ruled that animals are not entitled to habeas corpus protections.
Habeas Corpus: A Legal Principle for Humans
Habeas corpus, a legal safeguard rooted in the Magna Carta, ensures that individuals cannot be unlawfully imprisoned. While NRP argues that highly intelligent animals like elephants should be granted certain legal rights, courts continue to uphold that habeas corpus protections apply solely to humans.
