Happy the elephant is not a person, New York’s highest court rules
The ruling rejected an effort to move the Bronx Zoo elephant to a sanctuary—and ended the furthest-advancing animal rights case in U.S. judicial history.
Happy, a 51-year-old Asian elephant at the Bronx Zoo, is not a “person,” New York’s highest court has decided, bringing to a close a case that forced the courts and the public to reflect on what rights human society owes highly intelligent animals. The court’s 5-2 ruling on June 14 means Happy is not entitled to the fundamental right of bodily liberty, or freedom from imprisonment.
Last year, the New York Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case brought by the Nonhuman Rights Project, a Florida-based animal civil rights organization. The group argued on May 18 that Happy should be recognized as a legal person and sent to a sanctuary. This was the fourth court the NhRP has
