Colorado Supreme Court Rules Against Captive Elephants Constitutional Rights

The Colorado Supreme Court recently ruled against The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), stating that captive elephants do not have constitutional rights. The NhRP had filed a lawsuit against the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, claiming that the zoo unlawfully confined five elderly African elephants. The judges disagreed with the animal rights group's allegations of mistreatment and harm suffered by the elephants, stating that Colorado's habeas statute only applies to humans, not nonhuman animals.

The case began in 2023 when the NhRP filed a habeas petition seeking recognition of the elephants' fundamental right to bodily liberty. The District Court ruled that the elephants could not invoke the protections of habeas corpus because they are not human. Despite efforts to secure the elephants' release to an accredited sanctuary, the Colorado Supreme Court ultimately denied their right to a hearing on the lawfulness of their imprisonment.