Does this mean my pet elephant will have to turn in his driver’s license?
Posted on 01/22/2025 1:53:05 PM PST by nickcarraway
A bid to free five elephants from a Colorado zoo has been rejected after a court ruled elephants are not people.
An animal rights group argued Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo were effectively imprisoned at the zoo, and had filed to have them moved to an elephant sanctuary.
It tried to bring a habeas corpus claim on behalf of the animals - a legal process which allows a person to challenge their detention in court.
The Colorado Supreme Court said the matter boiled down to "whether an elephant is a person" and therefore had the same liberty rights as a human - ultimately deciding that they did not.
It ruled 6-0 in favour of a previous district court decision that said the state's habeas corpus process "only applies to persons, and not to nonhuman animals".
This was true "no matter how cognitively, psychologically, or socially sophisticated they may be," State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter added in her ruling.
While she said the five elderly African elephants were "majestic," the court ruled the claim could not be brought "because an elephant is not a person".
The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) petitioned for the elephants to be moved from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a "suitable elephant sanctuary" in 2023.
The group argued the animals had a right to freedom because they were emotionally complex and intelligent animals.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
...and people wonder why our courts are so backlogged.
“Define an elephant”
“I’m not a biologist.”
“people wonder why our country has gone insane”
Animal rights groups trying to ruin another good thing. PT Barnum and Bailey driven from business. Never to be seen and enjoyed by children again. Now zoos are the target.
I bet they never forget this defeat
Maybe this court can figure out what a woman is?
I have a simple answer:
Trouble.
Ask the governor to pardon the elephants. Then let them loose in the yards of the plaintiffs.
Spends over half their budget on themselves, based on the last years of 990s. Sitting on millions in assets which they have not spent of their programs.
“Define an elephant”
“An elephant is like a rope.”
Wow. If even elephants are not people, then who IS a person? What is a person? What is a woman? Let's ask SCOTUS Justice Ketonji ...
An elephant: A creature that eats peanuts, is afraid of mice, and never forgets.
Won’t the elephants still be imprisoned if they’re in an elephant sanctuary? As far as I know, such places don’t let the animals come and go as they please.
Does this mean my pet elephant will have to turn in his driver’s license?
I’m changing my affiliation to Independent just in case...
THE SCARIEST PART-—THESE LOONS ARE ROAMING THE STREETS WE TRAVEL ON, ETC.
And marrying elephants?
The elephants should have been allowed to compete with Joe Biden in a cognitive contest.
Lol.
Six to zero court ruling in Colorado?
Somewhat surprising.
Democrats have been saying elephants aren’t human for years.
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