Colorado Supreme Court confirms that elephants indeed are not people
Jan 21, 2025, 4:45 PM | Updated: 6:39 pm
I love elephants as much as the next guy, but I did find it a little odd that a group was trying to give the animals human rights in Colorado…
The Colorado Supreme Court rejected the idea that an animal rights organization could petition for the release of five captive elephants in Colorado Springs claiming them as “persons.”
Washington, D.C.-based Nonhuman Rights Project has unsuccessfully filed suit in multiple states on behalf of confined animals, invoking a centuries-old legal tool known as “habeas corpus” that allows people to challenge their detentions as unlawful.
The group argued habeas rights applied to five female African elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and sought a court-ordered transfer to an accredited animal sanctuary.
Today (Jan. 21) Colorado’s Supreme Court rejected that argument for one simple reason: Colorado’s habeas law applies to “persons,” not animals.
