A court in the United States did not want to recognize the elephant as a reasonable person, so she will have to stay at the zoo

The elephant Happy, a longtime resident of the Bronx Zoo, was not given a happy ending. She will have to stay at the zoo as the court ruled that she cannot be legally considered a person. BBC News.

On Tuesday, New York State Court of Appeals judges overwhelmingly dismissed a lawsuit filed by an animal rights group that the elephant was illegally kept at the zoo. This decision was supported by five judges, and only two opposed.

Animal rights activists pushed for Happy to be moved to an elephant sanctuary. But the court decided that elephants, for all their uniqueness, do not have the same rights and freedoms as people.

The court's decision means that the elephant is not subject to the legal principle of "habeas corpus". It states that every individual has a fundamental right to physical freedom or protection from unlawful detention.

The court agreed to hear the elephant's freedom case last year.

The Nonhuman Rights Project demanded that Happy be recognized as a being capable of complex emotions and intellectual activity. To be recognized as a person. This was the fourth trial in which the NhRP acted on behalf of the elephant.

A person is a legal designation of a certain living being with certain rights or duties. And animals in the US are considered property, just like inanimate objects.

“No one disputes the impressive capabilities of the elephants, but we reject the Plaintiffs' argument that they are entitled to seek relief on Happy's behalf,” Chief Justice Janet Di Fiore wrote in her decision. – Habeas corpus is a procedural concept designed to protect the rights to freedom of people whose freedom is unlawfully restricted. And not at all animals that do not belong to people.

Animal rights activists claim that Happy's aviary with an area of ​​​​about 4 thousand square meters. meters - an analogue of a prison cell for an elephant. However, the wildlife conservation society that runs the zoo claims that this is not true and that elephants are treated well in the zoo.

On the subject: A court in New York is considering a case to recognize an elephant as a “legal person”

Following the court decision, the Nonhuman Rights Project noted that the decision was not unanimous. And it will help them in another elephant rights case the group is pursuing in California.

Judge Jenny Rivera wrote that Happy's capture is inherently unfair and inhumane. “This is an insult to a civilized society. And every extra day of Happy's life as a prisoner detracts from us, ”the judge believes.

Happy was born in Thailand in the 1970s. She was caught and brought to the US when she was about a year old. The litigation heroine has lived at the Bronx Zoo since 1977. Happy is one of only two elephants left in the zoo. Over time, zoo officials promise to end the practice of keeping elephants in captivity.