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.

nonhumanrights.org/content/upload…

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.

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.

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

#AROriginStories

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)

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.

When NhRP Communications Director @LaurenChoplin was in first grade, she and her two sisters pleaded with their parents to let them keep a dog they'd found on the street and brought home in a wheelbarrow. After no one claimed the dog at the shelter, their parents relented. At first, the dog peed on the carpet and chased the cats, worrying Lauren's parents. However, with time and lots of love, Molly quickly adjusted to life in her new household.

We know you have questions about the decision issued yesterday in Happy's case, and we've got answers! Today at 5 p.m. ET, NhRP President @Steven_M_Wise will do a Facebook Live "Ask Me Anything" session explaining why Justice Tuitt's decision is so powerful and important for Happy and our fight for her liberty. He'll also discuss our next steps and, of course, how you can help!

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.

Like all #elephants, Tim was a beautiful being, and we join @yashar and elephant advocates around the world in mourning his passing.

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1225088328640294912

@yashar At the same time, like Yashar, we're disturbed by reports that his body "will be sent to a taxidermist in Nairobi so that it can go on display," according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.

You were entitled to freedom and justice. We lament not only your deaths, but also your lives. We honor who you were—extraordinarily cognitively, emotionally, and socially complex beings—and who you could have been had you been released from your unlawful imprisonment or never been torn from your families and natural habitats in the first place.

For over three decades, #TheCommerfordZoo has imprisoned #elephants Beulah, Karen, and Minnie on its property in Goshen, Connecticut, and forced them to labor under threat of a bullhook at circuses and fairs across the Northeast: This Friday will mark two months since Beulah collapsed and died at @TheBigEFair after her captors exploited her for profit one final time. That same week, the @USDA confirmed Karen had died in March under currently unknown circumstances.

1) BREAKING: We have just received confirmation via @USDA_APHIS and @WesternMassNews that our elephant client Karen has indeed died, as we suspected. 2) It is abhorrent that the Commerford Zoo denied Beulah and Karen the opportunity to find peace and dignity in a sanctuary, choosing instead to exploit them and force them to work under threat of physical violence until the very end of their deeply impoverished lives.

1) Tomorrow is the start of the Big E Fair. At last year’s fair, after the Commerford Zoo confined our elephant client Minnie in a tiny trailer to transport her from Connecticut to Massachusetts, they forced her to give rides to strangers for days on end. 2)Her unhealthy appearance shocked fairgoers & people across the world and led to a viral social media campaign for authorities to investigate & remove her from the Commerford Zoo. Minnie had fresh wounds from a bullhook & was observed limping as multiple people rode on her back.

1) Karen was last seen 14 months ago at the Meadowlands Fair in New Jersey, where she was forced to give rides under threat of the bullhook. She was observed giving rides to up to four people at a time, at times displaying stereotypic behavior such as swaying. 2) When she wasn’t giving rides, she was in her trailer or standing under a small tent with concrete flooring, where she was fed flattened hot dog buns and given a hose to drink out of. We are extremely concerned about Karen.

1) Thank you so much to everyone who has commented on and shared our posts regarding our concerns about Beulah and Karen's whereabouts and well-being. We plan to continue to urge the #CommerfordZoo to answer our questions as we work behind the scenes to determine where and how 2) all three elephants are. If you attend the #GoshenFair this weekend and see Beulah, Karen, and/or Minnie, please take photos and contact us at info@nonhumanrights.org. You can also report concerns about the elephants' welfare via the APHIS website: tinyurl.com/aphis-form

1) For decades, our Connecticut elephant clients Beulah, Karen, and Minnie have been imprisoned on the #CommerfordZoo property—pictured here—leaving it only to labor under threat of a bullhook at events across the Northeast like the #GoshenFair. #FreeTheCommerfordElephants 2) The @USDA has cited the #CommerfordZoo over 50 times for failing to adhere to the minimum standards required by the Animal Welfare Act, including failing to provide the elephants with adequate veterinary care. Photo of Minnie: @gigiglendinning

1. COURT CASE UPDATE: Today the Connecticut Appellate Court issued a decision in Beulah, Karen, and Minnie’s elephant rights case. 2. We are disappointed the Connecticut Appellate Court adopted a legally incorrect definition of personhood that other judges have rejected, refused us standing to sue on behalf of Beulah, Karen, and Minnie (to which we are entitled under the Connecticut common law

The NhRP's statement re: NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson's support for our elephant client Happy's release to a sanctuary. Thank you Speaker Johnson! @CoreyinNYC @yashar #FreeHappy #RumbleForRights Happy's bio and court case timeline: nonhumanrights.org/client-happy/