Legal Personhood and Ethical Considerations of Non-Human Animal-People, Part 2 of 2

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) is a civil rights organization that is known for pioneering the use in a New York Court of the “habeas corpus” clause requiring law practitioners to provide evidence that detainment of the living being complies with the law. Tommy was one of seven chimpanzee-people at the De Young Zoo whom NhRP sought to free and return to a natural sanctuary. “What we're trying to do is change the way people view non-human animals because right now it’s ‘Are you a human you have rights, you’re not a human you don’t.’ And we’re saying that’s wrong.” Despite several petitions from 2013 to 2018, the New York court and higher appellate courts ruled that Tommy and his chimpanzee-friends could not be recognized as legal rights holders, preventing further progress in their case for liberation.

Another high-profile case handled by the NhRP involved Happy, an elephant-person born in Thailand and brought to the New York Zoo in the 1970s. NhRP filed a petition regarding Happy’s confinement in 2018. Ultimately, the decision of the New York court was a vote of 5 for and 2 against that resulted in NhRP’s arguments being rejected. In May 2023, that pathway entered a new round when the New York City Council Member introduced a bill titled “Keeping, Restraint, or Possession of Elephants” (Int 0963-2023), that builds on existing city and state laws that prohibit the use of elephant-folk in circuses. “If passed, it would be the first elephant captivity ban bill passed in the United States,” said Courtney Fern (vegan), the Director of Government Relations and Campaigns for the Nonhuman Rights Project. As sentient beings as our Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai reminds us: “Animals also are people. They have feelings, they have intelligence, they have emotions, they have understanding, and they have the desire to live their lives in peace, until God calls them Home. Just the way we humans do.”