Bronx Zoo Elephant Who Lives in One Acre Area Since 1977 Is Self-Aware and Illegally Detained, Activists Say

A court ruling in New York destroys attorneys of an elephant living in the Bronx Zoo. The case materialized when activists pleaded for an improvement and relocation of the animal due to the abnormal environment it was being kept in.

Despite the efforts of the conservationist groups, 'Happy' the elephant will remain in its small quarters for now. The decision for the elephant was due to the creature not being a legal person, implying that any laws to save Happy would not apply.

The attorneys of Happy explained that the Bronx Zoo's 265-acre space is less than one percent of what the elephant could roam across in a single day in its natural habitat.

Experts say the legal case is difficult, considering that humans and even animals were involved.

Happy Stays in New York State, Court Says

(Photo: Magda Ehlers from Pexels)

Happy, along with other wild animals, is part of an exhibit at Bronx Zoo. Since 1977, the elephant has stayed in its one-acre home in the middle of the city. Throughout the years, efforts were made to bring Happy back to its natural home.

However, activists' hopes that support Happy were crushed by a recent statement from the New York Court of Appeals and ending the year-long battle for the elephant.

The court obtained a 5-2 decision that rejected the lawsuit filed on behalf of Happy. The 51-year-old elephant was backed up by an animal rights advocacy organization, the Nonhuman Rights Project. The main goal of their case is to let the authorities return Happy to a better sanctuary, in which it can roam more freely than ever and improve its quality of life.

According to the state's court ruling, Happy is "a nonhuman animal who is not a 'person' subjected to illegal detention."

The court added that no one opposes how the elephant's intelligence works and the right compassion and care that should be given to it. However, the writ of habeas corpus does not apply to nonhuman animals in New York or any other state across the country, they continued.

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Thin Line Between Intelligent Animals and Humans

Following the decision, the Nonhuman Rights Project said in a press release that the loss inflicts not just Happy, but also on the other species in the Bronx Zoo exhibit.

The event is also a loss for everyone who supported the case and did not stop at helping awareness about the real status of these animals, they added.

After the exchange, the administration of Bronx Zoo did not relay any comments, reports Insider.

Lawyers of the Nonhuman Rights Project say that Happy is being restricted in its one-acre 'prison' of an entire 256-acre zoo, an equivalent of less than a percent of what the elephant could normally tread out in the wild in just a single day.

Happy's legal team pushes that the elephant is an intelligent animal, meaning it is fit to use by the habeas corpus rights.

The attorneys highlighted how elephants could perform different levels of intelligence and consciousness. In a study from PNAS, it was shown that the animals can recognize themselves, unlike any other mammalian species that could not.