Category Archives: In the News

The Nonhuman Rights Project today issued the following press release: Feb 8th, 2012: Seventy-two hours after hearing oral argument on SeaWorld’s Motion to Dismiss PETA’s case, the Federal Court in San Diego dismissed PETA’s claims that the plaintiff orcas were … Continue reading →

By Natalie Prosin On February 6, 2012, a Federal Court in San Diego held a hearing on a Motion to Dismiss filed by SeaWorld in a case where PETA claimed that SeaWorld was enslaving orcas in violation of the Thirteenth … Continue reading →

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, the senior biologist for the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society expressed serious concerns over PETA’s lawsuit against SeaWorld on behalf of five orcas. “I would love to be wrong, and that they find … Continue reading →

Last Monday, on NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” we met Ken (photo right) and Rosie, two chimpanzees at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio. Chimpanzees are an endangered species, and the chimpanzee vivisection industry is becoming something of … Continue reading →

On February 2, 2012, the news website Miller-McCune ran an article asking the question that’s been on all of our minds for the last few months: Will PETA’s Thirteenth Amendment lawsuit end in a “splash or a belly flop for animal … Continue reading →

Off the coast of two different Hawaiian islands, Maui and Kauai, scientists report seeing whales and dolphins playing together. Specifically, in both places, they saw a humpback whale lifting her head out of the water with a dolphin resting on … Continue reading →

How public opinion came to the defense of two elephants. In the opening chapter of Rattling the Cage, Steven Wise describes the legal dichotomy between human and nonhuman animals as an ancient, seemingly impenetrable wall. Human interests on one side … Continue reading →

The Nonhuman Rights Project today issued the following press release: Jan 26th, 2012: Over the objections of both PETA and SeaWorld, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey T. Miller granted a request by the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) to appear as … Continue reading →

Steven Wise’s presentation, “Liberty and Justice for All – the Nonhuman Rights Project”– at the 2010 Lewis & Clark Animal Law Conference in Portland, Oregon, is now available for viewing here. The video runs about 90 minutes and is a … Continue reading →

Video shows chimpanzees warn their friends of danger up ahead of them Knowing what someone else doesn’t know enables you to take advantage of them – or, on the other hand, help them. It’s one of the hallmarks of extra … Continue reading →

New study shows sophisticated decision making When we humans have important decisions to make, we weigh out the options and try to calculate what approach would have the best chances of success, based on the available information. Other great apes … Continue reading →

Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month for January 2012: Kevin Schneider. Kevin Schneider started working with the Nonhuman Rights Project in the summer of 2010 as a volunteer social-media contributor and web editor. In the summer of 2011, Kevin … Continue reading →

Staff Report In Miller-McCune’s magazine article, “Should Animals be Considered People?” Steven Wise explains the rationale underlying the Nonhuman Rights Project. He describes how he came to take a different approach from other legal experts, as well as from the … Continue reading →

The Equality Working Group meets in New York

On December 8, 2011, The Portland Tribune published an op-ed by Steven M. Wise, President of the Nonhuman Rights Project.

On November 11, 2011, the Brooklyn Law School Student Animal Legal Defense Fund hosted a dinner and lecture with Professor Steven Wise, President of the Nonhuman Rights Project.

Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month for December 2011: Elizabeth Stein.

Feld Entertainment, the owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, just agreed to pay a $270,000 fine to settle USDA allegations of mishandling the elephants and other exotic animals they enslave.

“The problem with animal rights claims in American courts is always standing,” Molly Peterson writes in her blog. “Courts are for laws; laws are for people. Animals might have ethical rights; those rights have little-to-nothing to do with human laws.”

Lewis & Clark Law School begins LL.M in Animal Law Lewis & Clark Law School recently announced the world’s first advanced degree in animal law. The Animal Law LL.M Program received approval from the American Bar Association. An LL.M is … Continue reading →

Hears federal preemption case that has ties to animal welfare National Meat Association v. Harris For the second time in three years the US Supreme Court has taken up an animal welfare issue. The National Meat Association, an industry trade … Continue reading →

Plaintiffs failed for lack of “standing” By Natalie Prosin October 31st: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against Feld Entertainment, the owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The suit was … Continue reading →

Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month for November 2011: Elizabeth Holtz.

Regardless, another approach will soon change everything The animal rights organization PETA is accusing SeaWorld of keeping its famous “Shamu” killer whales in conditions that violate the 13th Amendment’s ban on slavery. The suit – filed on behalf of Tilikum … Continue reading →

Steve Wise, Judge Richard Posner, and Professor Richard Epstein debate animal rights particularly concerning Steve Wise’s book, “Rattling the Cage: Towards Legal Rights for Animals.”  The debate was filmed April 4, 2000 for C-SPAN.