A Colorado court has rejected an attempt to free five elephants from a zoo, ruling that elephants do not qualify as people under the law.
The case, brought by an animal rights organization, sought to have Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo relocated from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to an elephant sanctuary. The group argued that the elephants, being emotionally intelligent and socially complex, were effectively imprisoned.
Central to the lawsuit was a habeas corpus claim, a legal mechanism that allows individuals to challenge their detention. The Colorado Supreme Court, however, determined that habeas corpus applies only to humans.
“The question is whether an elephant can be considered a person with the same liberty rights as a human being,” the court stated. In a 6-0 ruling, the justices upheld a prior decision that Colorado’s habeas corpus laws pertain exclusively to humans.
Justice Maria Berkenkotter, writing for the court, acknowledged the elephants’ majesty and intelligence but affirmed that they cannot be granted human rights. “This remains true regardless of their cognitive, psychological, or social sophistication,” she said.
The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) originally filed the petition in 2023, advocating for the elephants to be moved to a sanctuary where they could live more naturally. They claimed the animals exhibited signs of trauma, brain damage, and chronic stress due to their captivity.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, however, countered that the elephants receive exceptional care and dismissed the lawsuit as baseless. The zoo, supported by a district court decision, argued that NRP’s efforts were misguided.
After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the zoo described the case as “frivolous” and accused the organization of exploiting court systems to fundraise. “This lawsuit wasted valuable resources,” the zoo stated, alleging that NRP uses “sensational court cases to manipulate donors.”
NRP responded to the decision by calling it an injustice and reiterated their belief that nonhuman animals deserve fundamental rights. “This ruling reinforces an entrenched status quo that denies liberty to individuals simply because they are not human,” the group said.
This is not the first time NRP has faced legal setbacks. A prior case attempting to free an elephant named Happy from New York’s Bronx Zoo was also denied on similar grounds.
Despite the ruling, NRP remains committed to challenging what they see as an outdated legal system that fails to recognize the rights of intelligent animals.