We are sickened to learn that our elephant client Beulah died as a result of blood poisoning caused by an infection the Commerford Zoo was aware she had when they forced her to travel in a trailer from CT to MA to be exhibited for their financial gain. tinyurl.com/usdaele
Blood poisoning, also known as septicemia, causes intense suffering, no matter your species. Beulah’s final hours—documented in photos of her lying on her side in a parking lot the day she died—marked a horrific end to an equally horrific life.
We have also learned that our elephant client Karen died of kidney disease at 38 years old. While much remains unknown about how long Karen had been sick, or if she was suffering from other ailments, we know she died at a much earlier age than elephants typically do.
The USDA claims that Beulah and Karen were receiving “appropriate care” at the time of their deaths. “Appropriate care” is meaningless if you remain a prisoner subjected to forced labor.
Both Beulah and Karen’s lives and deaths were tragedies. They were avoidable tragedies. The Commerford Zoo denied Beulah and Karen the opportunity to heal and regain their dignity in a sanctuary, claiming it was for the elephants’ own good while the USDA looked the other way.
We’ll keep fighting in and out of court for Minnie, the sole surviving Commerford elephant, to not suffer the same fate. We’d like to extend our deepest thanks to @SenBlumenthal for his help in getting answers about Beulah and Karen’s deaths. #FreeMinnie
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Four new amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs have been submitted in support of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s landmark habeas corpus case demanding the right to bodily liberty of an elephant named Happy held alone in captivity in the Bronx Zoo. nonhumanrights.org/blog/new-brief…
The first brief is by a group of six expert habeas corpus practitioners and scholars, including four lawyers who worked on the Central Park Jogger case.
The second is by 14 philosophers with expertise in animal ethics, animal political theory, the philosophy of animal cognition and behavior, and the philosophy of biology.
Elephants are self-aware, autonomous beings. They empathize with others, cooperate to solve problems and make decisions, have extensive long-term memories, teach and learn from each other, use tools, engage in complex communication, possess distinct cultures, grieve the deaths of
their loved ones, and want and need to live freely, just as we do. We are inspired every day by elephants’ resilience at the same time as we are outraged by the human actions that have forced them to endure and try to heal from trauma after trauma, loss after loss, for centuries.
For the NhRP, appreciating elephants means recognizing and protecting their right to live freely.
Almost 50 years ago, a baby elephant was torn from her family in the wild, exported to the US, and sold for $4K to a family from NJ. They named her Mignon, French for "cute." In 1972 her life as an elephant ended, and her life as a source of entertainment began. A thread:
The Hammonds treated, and wanted Mignon to act, like a family pet rather than an elephant. She was walked on a leash, slept on a mattress in their home, and was house trained. She wasn’t even allowed to relieve herself in a natural way—she was taught to urinate into a bucket.
In the 70s, the Hammonds were far from alone in having sought to turn a nonhuman being into a money-making experiment. For example, many know the story of Nim Chimpsky (nonhumanrights.org/blog/my-old-fr…). "Cute" while they're young, they become more difficult to control as they grow older.
After almost a lifetime in captivity, 14 years of which she has been forced to live alone, 49-year-old Happy deserves to be freed from her imprisonment at the @BronxZoo and released to @ElephantsTN or @PAWSARK2000. #FreeHappy
At the @BronxZoo, which is managed by @TheWCS, Happy is confined alone, without the necessary companionship of other elephants, in a small enclosure that contains a one-acre outdoor yard, barren corrals, and an industrial holding facility. #FreeHappy
NhRP Development Director Mickey Suzuki's path to nonhuman #animalrights advocacy started with her parents, who taught her to treat all living beings with kindness and respect. They were the ones who instilled in her a love for nonhuman animals (1/4)
especially her dad who grew up on a small farm in Japan and always told stories of caring for his family's goats, horses, and a little chick who'd follow him around while he'd do his chores. Mickey was (and still is) always in awe of how animals gravitate toward her dad; (2/4)
the running joke in their family is that he is their Dr. Dolittle.
Growing up in Australia, Mickey was always surrounded by nature and native animals, so it was important to her parents to teach her from an early age how to share their home and surrounding spaces (3/4)
Today, fifty years after the first #EarthDay, we’d like to thank you for helping us build a more just world for all.
A world in which we refuse to allow fear—fear of “the other,” fear of the loss of the status quo, fear of change and uncertainty—sway how we treat other beings and make public policy.
A world in which we make decisions at all levels based on science, justice, and the interconnectedness of all life on earth.