New York Court of Appeal Agrees to Hear Landmark Elephant Case.

Courtesy of the New York Post.

On 4 May 2021, the New York Court of Appeal agreed to hear the habeas corpus case for Happy, an elephant who has lived her life for over four decades at the Bronx Zoo.

This is the first time in history that the highest Court of any English speaking jurisdiction will hear a habeas corpus case brought on behalf of someone other than a human being.

In 2018, the Nonhuman Rights Project brought a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on Happy’s behalf, seeking recognition of her fundamental right to bodily liberty and transfer to an elephant sanctuary. She became the first elephant in the world to be granted a hearing to determine the lawfulness of her imprisonment.

The trial Court regrettably denied Happy’s petition because of prior Court decisions - now expected to be scruntised by the Court of Appeal. In November, President of the Nonhuman Rights Project and Happy’s attorney Steven Wise argued on the elephant’s behalf before the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court's First Department in Manhattan but was rejected as justices made it clear during arguments they would be reluctant to accept Wise's argument. That mid-level court upheld a Bronx judge’s ruling.

In 2018, Court of Appeals Associate Justice Eugene Fahey said he "struggled" with the denial of a similar argument Wise made on behalf of  Tommy, a chimp who was living in Montgomery County in a cage in a warehouse-type setting.

Judges typically issue writs of habeas corpus to demand that a prisoner be produced to determine whether the person's imprisonment is legal. Wise has argued that legally speaking, personhood is not the same as being human. He has said that courts around the world have found ships, corporations, holy books and a river to be persons.

Courtesy of HKALPO.