US court rules that elephants are not people

An animal rights group which claimed five elephants in a Colorado zoo were ‘imprisoned’ has been slammed when a court ruled that elephants are not people.

Elephants Kimba, Missy, LouLou, Lucky and Jambo live at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but The Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP) argued they should be moved to a ‘suitable’ sanctuary.

In court, this was brought forth as a claim on ‘behalf’ of the animals – but the legality states it allows a person to challenge wrongful detention in court – leaving the court with a question.

Is an elephant a person? Do they have the same rights as a human?

The Colorado Supreme Court decided that elephants are not people, and don’t have the same rights.

The state’s habeas corpus process, under which the claim was filed, only applies to people and not ‘nonhuman animals’, the ruled.

The Nonhuman Rights Project claimed the animals had a ‘right’ to freedom because elephants are known to be emotionally intelligent.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where the five ‘majestic’ elephants live, slammed the ‘frivolous’ lawsuit and explained how the elephants receive excellent care.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo rejected the claim, arguing the elephants had received remarkable care, and was supported by a district court.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo called NRP’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said it had “wasted” time and money on the case.

The NRP wrote in a statement: ‘As with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering.’

Colorado Courts may have ruled that elephants don’t have the same rights as people, but NRP is correct in their statement of the animal’s intelligence.

In fact, scientists discovered last year that the (mostly) gentle giants address each other in the wild with name-like calls, a rare ability among non-human animals.

The team subsequently called African elephants by their names – and the elephants answered back.

The findings could suggest elephants have a much more complex system of vocal communication than thought.

Researchers from Colorado State University (CSU) in the US, along with conservation groups Save the Elephants and ElephantVoices, used artificial intelligence to confirm that elephant calls contained a name-like component identifying the intended recipient.

When the team played back recorded calls, elephants responded affirmatively to calls that were addressed to them by calling back or approaching the speaker.

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