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“The most important animal-rights case of the 21st century”

By Lauren Choplin on November 17, 2021
Share this story:

“Under U.S. law, a corporation can be a person. So can a ship … But can an elephant be a person? No case like this has ever reached so high a court, anywhere in the English-speaking world. The elephant suit might be an edge case, but it is by no means a frivolous case. In an age of mass extinction and climate catastrophe, the questions it raises, about the relationship between humans, animals, and the natural world, concern the future of life on Earth, questions that much existing law is catastrophically ill-equipped to address.” 
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Click here to read one of the best stories we’ve seen so far on our fight to #FreeHappy—published today in The Atlantic and written by award-winning historian Jill Lepore, who calls our litigation on Happy’s behalf “the most important animal-rights case of the 21st century.” ⁣
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Thank you for being an integral part of it!⁣
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You can help by:

  • Sharing the story along with our #FreeHappy campaign page to raise awareness of why Happy and all elephants deserve the right to live freely.
  • Commenting in support of Happy’s right to live freely and release to a sanctuary on The Atlantic’s tweet and Facebook post. Tell others why you’re in this fight with us!
  • Submitting a Letter to the Editor to thank The Atlantic for this story.

For a detailed timeline of Happy’s case, court filings, and decisions, visit this page. Find all the latest on the fight for Happy’s freedom and ways to take action on our new Free Happy campaign page.

Lauren is the NhRP’s Communications Director. She heads up internal and external communications, coordinating media coverage of our legal and policy work and managing our blog and social media pages.

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