DENVER (AP) 鈥� Five elephants at a Colorado zoo may be 鈥渕ajestic鈥� but, since they're not human, they do not have the legal right to pursue their release, Colorado鈥檚 highest court said Tuesday.
The ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court follows a in 2022 for an elephant named Happy at the Bronx Zoo in a case brought by an animal rights group. Rulings in favor of the animals would have allowed lawyers for both Happy and the elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs 鈥� Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo 鈥� to pursue a long-held legal process for prisoners to challenge their detention and possibly be sent to live in an elephant sanctuary instead.
The Colorado court said its decision 鈥渄oes not turn on our regard for these majestic animals.鈥�
鈥淚nstead, the legal question here boils down to whether an elephant is a person,鈥� the court said. 鈥淎nd because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim,鈥� it said in the ruling.
The same animal rights group that tried to win Happy鈥檚 release, the Nonhuman Rights Project, also brought .
The group argued that the Colorado elephants, born in the wild in Africa, have shown signs of brain damage because the zoo is essentially a prison for such intelligent and social creatures, known to roam for miles a day. It wanted the animals released to one of the two accredited elephant sanctuaries in the United States because the group doesn鈥檛 think they can no longer live in the wild.
The zoo argued moving the elephants and potentially placing them with new animals would be cruel at their age, possibly causing unnecessary stress. It said they aren鈥檛 used to being in larger herds and, based on the zoo's observations, the elephants don鈥檛 have the skills or desire to join one.
While welcoming the Colorado court's ruling, the zoo said it was disappointed there had to be a legal fight over the issue and accused the Nonhuman Rights Project of 鈥渁busing court systems" to fundraise.
鈥淚t seems their real goal is to manipulate people into donating to their cause by incessantly publicizing sensational court cases with relentless calls for supporters to donate,鈥� the zoo said in a statement.
The Nonhuman Rights Project said the latest ruling "perpetuates a clear injustice鈥� and predicted future courts would reject the idea that only humans have a right to liberty.
鈥淎s with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering,鈥� it said in a statement.
Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press
