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Photo: Gigi Glendinning

#FreeHappy

Help free Happy the elephant from solitary confinement in the Bronx Zoo

 

After almost a lifetime in captivity, thirteen years of which she has been forced to live alone, 48-year-old Happy deserves to be freed from her imprisonment at the Bronx Zoo and sent to an elephant sanctuary.

Science and human experience make clear that elephants are autonomous animals. In other words, they are cognitively, emotionally, and socially complex beings who have the capacity to exercise free will and make choices about how to spend their days and live their lives, just as human beings do. Forcing an elephant like Happy to live alone in a small unnatural environment, where she is prevented from exercising free will and engaging in her innate behaviors, causes physical and emotional suffering.

It’s time for the Bronx Zoo to send Happy to an elephant sanctuary where she can live freely with other elephants in an environment that is similar to her natural habitat.

How you can help:

Use this action alert to urge Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny to release Happy to a sanctuary.

Use this action alert to urge Cristián Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the Bronx Zoo, to send Happy to a sanctuary.

Sign and share this Change.org petition calling for Happy’s release to a sanctuary.

Tweet to help us #FreeHappy. Check out this blog post for sample tweets and graphics.

Related Resources

What is Happy’s life like at the Bronx Zoo, and why is a sanctuary the only environment where she can exercise her autonomy? Read and download our Happy FAQ.

On May 31st, 2019, Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny emailed NhRP supporters who used our our action alert to urge the Bronx Zoo to release Happy to a sanctuary. Read our detailed response.

On June 1st, 2019, over 100 activists joined the Nonhuman Rights Project to rally for freedom for Happy. Watch news coverage of the rally.

On June 6, 2019, journalist and elephant advocate Yashar Ali wrote a series of tweets about who Happy is, why the NhRP is fighting for her freedom, and why she must be released to an elephant sanctuary. Read and share his viral thread.

In response to Yashar Ali’s tweet, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, thanked Ali for bringing Happy’s situation to her attention and offered to see what she can do to help. Read and share her tweet.

On June 30, 2019, Dr. Joyce Poole (Scientific Director of ElephantVoices) reiterated her support for Happy’s release to a sanctuary in the New York Daily News. Read and share her op-ed.

On July 10, 2019, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson issued a public statement calling on the Bronx Zoo to release Happy and Patty to a sanctuary. Read and share his statement here.

On August 10, 2019, the Nonhuman Rights Project held a second rally for Happy’s freedom. Watch Jane Unchained’s coverage of the rally here.

On October 4, 2019 on NPR’s The Brian Lehrer Show, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio discusses our campaign to free Happy to a sanctuary, saying “something doesn’t feel right” about keeping Happy at the Bronx Zoo and “there’s a reason social animals [like elephants] might be deeply affected by that experience.” Read about his comments here. 

Want to receive email updates on actions you can take to help Happy and other nonhuman animals?

Sign up here.
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When someone tells you that an elephant is antisocial or doesn’t get along with other elephants and they are in a zoo or circus, always keep in mind they are a product of their environment. When given space, understanding and the ability and comfort to simply walk far away, they are able to rediscover what it means to be a herd member and how big of a part of being an elephant it truly is.

”
- Global Sanctuary for Elephants
Nonhuman Rights Project

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