Court Rules Elephants Not ‘Persons,’ Denies Legal Rights in Captivity Battle

Five elephants at Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain Zoo became the focus of a legal battle over their right to freedom. Animal rights activists argued the elephants, born in the wild, suffered mentally and physically in captivity. Using habeas corpus, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) sought to challenge the legality of their detention. The zoo claimed relocating the elephants at their age would cause undue stress and could be harmful.