Court Rules Elephants Cannot Seek Release from Colorado Zoo as They Are Not Human

DENVER—Five elephants at a zoo in Colorado may be viewed as “majestic,” but since they are not human, they do not possess the legal right to seek their release, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

This decision from the state’s highest court follows a similar setback for an elephant named Happy at the Bronx Zoo in New York in 2022, a case initiated by an animal rights organization. Favorable rulings for these animals would have allowed legal representatives for both Happy and the elephants at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs—Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo—to invoke a long-standing legal process used by prisoners to contest their detention and potentially be relocated to an elephant sanctuary.

“It is important to emphasize that the narrow legal issue before this court does not hinge on our appreciation for these majestic animals in general or these five elephants in particular. The legal question is simply whether an elephant qualifies as a person under the habeas corpus statute. Since an elephant is not considered a person, the elephants currently do not have standing to file a habeas corpus claim,” the court stated in its judgment.

The same animal rights organization that advocated for Happy’s release, the Nonhuman Rights Project, also filed the case in Colorado.

The group contended that the Colorado elephants, originally from the wild in Africa, exhibit signs of brain damage because zoos effectively serve as prisons for such intelligent and social creatures who naturally roam vast distances each day. They sought the release of these elephants to one of the two accredited sanctuaries for elephants in the U.S., arguing that they are no longer viable candidates for life in the wild.

The zoo countered that relocating the elephants and possibly reintroducing them to other animals would be cruel at their age and could induce unnecessary stress. The zoo maintained that the elephants are not accustomed to larger herds and, based on their observations, lack the necessary skills or desire to integrate into one.

In a statement, the Nonhuman Rights Project expressed that the recent ruling “perpetuates a clear injustice” and predicted that future courts would challenge the notion that only humans possess the right to liberty.

“As with other social justice movements, initial setbacks are anticipated as we confront a deeply entrenched status quo that has condemned Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering,” the statement added.

By Colleen Slevin