The group [Nonhuman Rights Project] cited habeas corpus, a provision of the U.S. Constitution that outlines requirements for the detention and jailing of people and offers remedies for getting people released from custody. NhRP had argued elephants have a “right to bodily liberty because they are autonomous and extraordinarily cognitively and socially complex beings,” the state supreme court’s ruling says.
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Is the court admitting elephants are better than us?
That’s a weak argument for sure, probably a good indication that the AWA needs some work.
From the article - “The district court did note, however, that the elephants likely were exposed to poor conditions and inadequately sized enclosures, but said the Nonhuman Rights Project simply has no standing under the law cited in its lawsuit.”
One would expect the NRP to have better lawyers who would know this, but maybe it was just a shot in the dark. Or for publicity?
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