What Do Elephants Have to Do with Agriculture?
On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s [NhRP] writ of habeas corpus claim on five elephants residing in the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. NhRP claimed the elephants were “unlawfully confined” and, therefore, fell within the bounds of the writ of habeas corpus.
What Would It Mean if Elephants or Other Animals Were Awarded Habeas Corpus?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Habeas Corpus as “the right of a citizen to obtain a writ of habeas corpus as a protection against illegal imprisonment.” In other words, habeas corpus allows legal people to challenge their confinement status.
If the court's decision awarded habeas corpus to elephants, they would no longer be seen as property, and it would set a dangerous precedent that animal rights activists would use to further their ideological agenda of total animal liberation.
The transition to animals having civil rights would make animal ownership nearly impossible. Farmers, ranchers and American families will feel the biggest impacts if the NhRP is successful in their quest. Farmers and ranchers would most likely no longer be able to raise livestock for meat, milk, eggs, clothing, medicines, or any other of the thousands of byproducts derived from livestock production. This could also harm the ownership of pets and the ownership and use of horses.
Animal Welfare Will Be Impacted
Veterinarians have spoken out against NhRPs bid to grant animals the writ of habeas corpus. In 2021, veterinary groups, including the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS), and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), shared their support for the Bronx Zoo in an Amici Curiae Brief. The opening line was as follows:
“The veterinary community is filing this brief because it is gravely concerned that redefining the human-animal legal system in this way will negatively impact animals’ welfare.”
The opening went on to state:
“Changing these rights and responsibilities, as proposed here, would create instant, enormous, and pervasive confusion. It could limit—or even eliminate—the ability of animal owners to choose the proper course of treatment for their animals by subjecting their decisions to outside intervention by third parties. If animals do not receive the timely care they need, including during legal battles over their fate, they are the ones who will suffer. Ownership is the true pro-animal position.”
Nonhuman Rights Project Pushes Radical Ideology
The NhRP was founded in 1995 to achieve “personhood” for animals through grassroots efforts, legislation, and lawsuits. According to its website, the group’s stated goal is to “… promote recognition of nonhuman animals as beings worthy of moral and legal consideration and with their own inherent interests in freedom from captivity, participation in a community of other members of their species, and the protection of their natural habitat."
In short, NhRP is aiming to give animals the same legal rights as people.
NhRP founder Stephen Wise is a lawyer who has used his legal knowledge to further his extreme beliefs regarding animal welfare. Wise was previously the president of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and has been a contributing author to Humane Society of the United States publications. In addition, he has taught animal rights courses at Harvard Law School, Vermont Law School, St. Thomas University Law School, and John Marshal Law School.
Colorado is the Third Attempt
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is not the first to fall victim to NhRPs legal attacks targeting elephants. The most notable was NhRPs first attempt to claim habeas corpus for an elephant named Happy that belonged to the Bronx Zoo in New York. The legal battle cost more than $3.38 million in fees to defend against the case. Those fees do not include the millions spent to prepare Amici Curiae Brief in support of Happy the Elephant and the Bronx Zoo by animal agriculture advocacy groups and other veterinary organizations. After the Happy the Elephant lawsuit failed, the NhRP turned its attention to other states where it believed there might be some vulnerability in their judicial system.
According to their website, on December 13, 2023, the California Supreme Court denied the habeas corpus petition filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project against the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. This time, the NrHP claimed that three elephants were being held against their will at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo and deserved to be granted the same status as humans. After the failures in New York and California, the NhRP turned its attention toward the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, which lasted for 19 months.
Colorado Supreme Court Decision
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled against the habeas corpus claims in a 6-0 vote. The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision was based on the simple fact that elephants are not human and, therefore, cannot claim a writ of habeas corpus.
Justice Maria Berkenhotter wrote the following in the decision:
“The legal question boils down to whether an elephant is a person, as that term is used in the habeas corpus statute. And because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim.”
The Nonhuman Rights Project Vows to Continue Legal Battles
These recent failures have not deterred the group. When it comes to elephants in California, the Nonhuman Rights Project states, “In court and beyond, on behalf of all nineteen elephants held captive in zoos throughout the state, we intend to fight for as long as it takes to end elephant imprisonment and secure elephants’ right to liberty. “
According to a statement by the NhRP, they have filed a petition for rehearing in Colorado. Their petition claims that the Colorado Supreme Court, “incorrectly deferred to the legislature to limit the scope of common law habeas corpus.”
It is imperative that the court does not grant the rehearing. If it is granted, the court can allow for re-argument, resubmission, or any other appropriate actions.
Gaining Ground
Make no mistake, the NhRP is gaining ground incrementally. The stark difference between the Colorado and New York cases is that two judges ruled in favor of the NhRP allegations against the Bronx Zoo. This stance emboldened the organization by proving that this extreme outlook could succeed in their case in the future.
The Bronx Zoo, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are just three examples of how organizations like NhRP can use drawn-out legal battles to send out harmful propaganda about animals to promote their extreme narratives. They are also examples of how these groups use lawfare in an attempt to cause significant financial harm to organizations that own and utilize animals. Legal pushes such as these must continue to be shut down by the courts to diminish their credibility to the public.
Unfortunately, the Nonhuman Rights Project secured a victory in their steps toward total animal liberation by convincing the city council of Ojai, California, to adopt a resolution ordinance titled “Right to Bodily Liberty by Elephants.”
Dangerous Precedent for Agriculture
If courts in New York, California, or Colorado had determined that an elephant or any other zoo animal possessed personhood rights, the floodgate would open for future lawsuits. The anti-animal agriculture and animal rights activism wouldn’t stop there. Activist groups could sue dairies, feedlots, egg producers, pork producers, and even meat processing operations with claims that animals are being held unlawfully as “prisoners”.
NhRPs ultimate goal is the liberation of animals and the imposition of radical anti-animal ownership and animal agriculture laws by setting judicial precedents. Elephants are the low-hanging fruit setting the foundation for future attacks against animal owners.
There is no doubt the NhRP will strike again, and the animal agriculture community must be vigilant and prepared to step in and help fight back. Our future depends on it.
Links
Smithsonian on the Colorado Supreme Court Ruling HERE
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Statement HERE
New York Court of Appeals on Happy the Elephant HERE
Duane Morris article about Happy the Elephant and the Bronx Zoo HERE
*Additional information about the connections, activities and goals of NhRP can be found on their website by doing a simple search.