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Media Center

Factsheets, press releases, media coverage, law review articles & more

To arrange interviews with or request a comment from any NhRP staff, please contact Communications Director Lauren Choplin. If you’re not a member of the media, please visit our Contact Us page.

NhRP General Factsheet
NhRP Factsheet: Animal Welfare vs. Nonhuman Animal Rights
NhRP President Steven M. Wise Bio
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NhRP Photography

The NhRP extends our deepest gratitude to the photographers who have graciously donated photographs for use on our website and in our educational and social media materials. Photo credit is given at the bottom right-hand corner of each image, accessible via a click on the camera icon. To learn more about these photographers, click here. To donate your own photos or artwork, email info@nonhumanrights.org.

Recent Media Releases

  • 2.4.21: Catholic Theologians Support New York Elephant Rights Case
  • 1.27.21: Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) Seeks Appeal in New York’s Highest Court in Landmark Elephant Rights Case
  • 12.17.20: Statement on First Department Decision in Happy’s Elephant Rights Case
  • 12.16.20: The Unjust Treatment of Elephants in Connecticut
  • 11.20.20: Statement on Arguments Before First Department in Happy’s Elephant Rights Case
  • 10.14.20: Nonhuman Rights Project Calling for Changes at Project Chimps
  • 9.28.20: NhRP Files Reply to Bronx Zoo Brief
  • 7.22.20: Habeas Corpus Scholars, Philosophers Support New York Elephant Rights Case
  • 7.14.20: World-Renowned Legal Scholar Laurence Tribe Supports New York Elephant Rights Case
  • 7.10.20: Fight for Elephant Rights Continues in New York 
  • 5.21.20: Islamabad High Court Recognizes the Rights of Nonhuman Animals
  • 5.14.20: Statement on Appellate Court Ruling in Connecticut Elephant Rights Case
  • 2.19.20: Bronx Supreme Court Breaks Ground on Elephant’s Right to Liberty
  • 1.6.20: Bronx Court Hears Third Day of Arguments in Elephant Rights Case

NhRP in the News (Online Articles, Radio/Podcasts, TV & Video, Op-eds/Opinion, Journal Articles)

Online Articles

2021

  • Happy the elephant was denied rights designed for humans – but the legal definition of ‘person’ is still evolving (The Conversation UK, 1/6/21))

2020

  • Year in Review: The Bronx’s biggest headlines of 2020 (Bronx Times, 12/30/20)
  • Court rules against animal rights group in Happy the elephant case (Bronx Times, 12/17/20)
  • Animal rights nonprofit and Bronx Zoo organization continue the fight for Happy the elephant (Bronx Times, 12/1/20)
  • Is an animal a legal person with rights? (Irish Examiner, 11/30/20)
  • Happy the elephant isn’t happy. But does she need to be granted human rights to fix that? (NBC News, 11/28/20)
  • Animal rights group urges court to recognize Bronx Zoo elephant as a person (New York Post, 11/19/20)
  • ‘Bronx Zoo Elephant Is A Person’ Court Fight Stomps Forward (Patch, 11/20/20)
  • L’éléphant Happy va-t-il être reconnu comme une personne ? (Le Monde, 11/19/20)
  • ‘Personhood’ of elephant debated in New York court (Albany Times Union, 11/19/20)
  • Is an elephant a person? New York court set to decide (The Guardian, 11/19/20)
  • Are animals ‘persons’? New York court hears the case of Happy the elephant (Big Think, 11/18/20)
  • Should animals have legal personality? (Financial Times, 10/25/20)
  • Lawyers argue Happy the elephant should have right to freedom (The Guardian, 10/22/20)
  • Fight Over Happy the Elephant’s ‘Personhood’ Jumps to NY Appeals Court, Draws Harvard Law Prof Laurence Tribe, Others (New York Law Journal, 7/17/20)
  • Landmark decision: Justice Minallah’s consideration of animal rights is the only fitting judicial response to the crises faced by animals (The Express Tribune, 6/8/20)
  • Pandemic prison – what next for non-human animals? (The Ecologist, 5/12/20)
  • To Him, Animals Are (Legal) Persons Too (OZY, 3/5/20)
  • Judge Rules ‘Happy the Elephant’ Not Entitled to Human Rights (NY1, 2/22/20)
  • Siding with Bronx Zoo, judge rules Happy the elephant is not a person (ABC News, 2/19/20)

2019

  • ‘I think this is a huge victory’: Ruling in Argentina opens door to granting apes personhood (The Spokesman-Review, 11/8/19)
  • Orangutan Sandra granted personhood settles into new Florida home (The Guardian, 11/7/19)
  • Elephant May Be a Person In Historic Court Case (Live Kindly, 10/25/19)
  • Happy the Elephant and the Personhood of Animals (Nonprofit Quarterly, 10/24/19)
  • Lawyers argue that the Bronx Zoo’s Happy the Elephant should have the same rights as humans – including the fundamental entitlement to liberty (Daily Mail, 10/23/19)
  • Happy The Elephant May Get A Visit From Local Judge in Pachyderm Personhood Case (Gothamist, 10/22/19)
  • Bronx Zoo’s Happy the Elephant Has Day in Court (Wall Street Journal, 10/21/19)
  • Bronx Zoo elephant Happy gets court win ahead of her biggest trial (Sydney Morning Herald, 10/6/19)
  • De Blasio sympathizes with Happy the elephant, but ‘doesn’t know the details’ (New York Post, 10/4/19)
  • Animal activists glad Happy the elephant staying in Bronx Zoo – for now (New York Post, 10/2/19)
  • Pachyderms are persons, too, lawyers say in court case over Happy, a 48-year-old Bronx Zoo elephant   (New York Daily News, 9/23/19)
  • Bronx Zoo Blasts Claim that Happy the Elephant is a Person (New York Post, 9/23/19)
  • Are Animals ‘Persons’? (Financial Times, 9/12/19)
  • Can Elephants Be Persons? (Dissent Magazine, Summer 2019)
  • Animal rights group to challenge court decision on elephants’ standing (Waterbury Republican American, 8/20/19)
  • Meet the Attorneys Behind Attempts to Remove 3 Elephants From Connecticut Zoo (Connecticut Law Tribune, 8/19/19)
  • Appeal planned in elephant rights case (Associated Press, 8/16/19)
  • Protesters Demand Freedom for Bronx Zoo Elephant, Happy (Their Turn, 8/12/19)
  • Who supports animal rights? Here’s what we found. (Washington Post, 7/26/19)
  • Heartbreaking story of Happy the world’s loneliest elephant (The Mirror, 7/7/19)
  • Ocasio-Cortez offers to help Bronx Zoo’s Happy the elephant (New York Post, 6/6/19)
  • Campaign mounts in US to rehome Bronx Zoo’s elephant ‘Happy’ who has lived alone in its enclosure for 13 years (The Standard, 6/6/19)
  • Bronx Zoo protestors demand release of Happy the elephant (New York Post, 6/1/19)
  • Earth Day reminds us of our duty to nature, including protecting its wild creatures (Idaho Statesmen, 4/26/19)
  • A case of man vs beast: the fight for nonhuman rights (New Statesman, 4/17/19)
  • Access to justice for animals: It’s possible (The Lawyers’ Daily, 3/14/19)
  • Animal-rights group continues fight to free elephants (Torrington Register Citizen, 2/18/19)
  • A group wants liberty for three elephants at a Goshen zoo, but a second Connecticut judge has denied the petition (Hartford Courant, 2/15/19)
  • Animal welfare advocates picket zoo at DCU Center in Worcester (The Telegram & Gazette, 2/2/19)
  • Activists rally for animal rights at zoo and fun fair in Worcester (Worcester Magazine, 2/2/19)
  • Animal Rights Activists to Rally for Release of 3 Elephants (AP/US News & World Report, 2/2/19)

2018

  • An Elephant’s Personhood on Trial (The Atlantic, 12/28/18)
  • Animal rights group continues their push for Happy the lonely elephant to be given the same rights as a PERSON so she can be relocated to a sanctuary after her longtime companion died (Daily Mail, 12/28/18)
  • Gradually, nervously, courts are granting rights to animals (The Economist, 12/22/18)
  • Venue change for Happy the Elephant personhood case (New York Daily News, 12/14/18)
  • Happy the elephant case sent back to Bronx (Batavia Daily News, 12/15/18)
  • Why Orleans County? The big question in Happy the elephant’s habeas corpus case (Batavia Daily News, 12/15/18)
  • Free Happy! Orleans County suit demands release of ‘unlawfully imprisoned’ elephant (Democrat and Chronicle, 12/12/18)
  • NY Judge Set to Weigh Arguments for Release of Bronx Zoo Elephant (New York Law Journal, 12/10/18)
  • Happy the Elephant Could Be Granted Legal Personhood in Historic Court Case (Care2, 11/28/18)
  • The question of habeas corpus: How exactly did an elephant court case wind up in Orleans County? (Batavia Daily News, 11/23/18)
  • The elephant in the room: does Happy qualify for habeas corpus? (Batavia Daily News, 11/23/18)
  • Orleans County issues first-ever habeas corpus on behalf of an elephant (Batavia Daily News, 11/21/18)
  • A judge granted a habeas corpus order for an elephant (Fast Company, 11/20/18)
  • Judge takes first step to decide whether Happy the elephant should be released from Bronx Zoo (ABA Journal, 11/20/18)
  • Animal Welfare Lawyers Say New York’s ‘Loneliest Elephant’ Is a Person (Gizmodo, 11/20/18)
  • Judge To Rule On Historic Case Of Whether An Elephant Is A Person (Forbes, 11/19/18)
  • NY Judge Grants Habeas Order for Bronx Zoo Elephant (Courthouse News, 11/19/18)
  • Too Big, Too Smart: Are Elephants and Zoos a Bad Fit? (Moving Giants, 11/16/18)
  • Why One Lawyer Wants Elephants To Be Considered ‘Persons’ (New England Public Radio, 11/15/18)
  • Lawyer Revs Up Habeas Battle Over Bronx Zoo Elephant (Courthouse News, 11/6/18)
  • Citizen Ape: The fight for personhood for humans’ closest relatives (Mongabay, 10/24/18)
  • This elephant might be better at math than you are (New York Post, 10/24/18)
  • An elephant named Happy is ‘unlawfully imprisoned’ in a NYC zoo, activist group says (USA Today, 10/3/18)
  • Is Happy the Elephant Lonely? Free Her, the Bronx Zoo Is Urged (The New York Times, 10/3/18)
  • Bronx Zoo’s Happy The Elephant Is Actually Really Sad And Lonely, Lawsuit Alleges (Gothamist, 10/3/18)
  • A Self-Aware Elephant Lawyers Up (Forbes, 10/2/18)
  • Buoyed by Courts’ Changing Attitudes on Personhood, Group Fights to Free Bronx Zoo Elephant (New York Law Journal, 10/2/18)
  • Animal-Rights Group Sues to Spring Happy the Elephant From Bronx Zoo (Wall Street Journal, 10/2/18)
  • Zoo Elephant Is Being ‘Unlawfully Imprisoned,’ Group Says (AP/US News and World Report, 10/2/18)
  • Rencontre avec le “Nonhuman Rights Project” (FranceSoir, 9/27/18)
  • Animal Rights Law and the Pursuit of Nonhuman Personhood (Animal People Forum, 8/1/18)
  • 침팬지도 흑인노예나 여성처럼 언젠가 법적 권리 가질 것 (한국일보!, 6/30/18)
  • Personhood for Animals? This Collective is Fighting to Make This a Reality! (The Better India, 6/1/18)
  • Legal personhood for non-human animals: Part II — Dr Linda Roland Danil (UK Human Rights Blog, 6/1/18)
  • New York Court Fails to Grant Captive Chimps Tommy and Kiko Legal Personhood (Care2, 5/22/18)
  • Confronting a manifest injustice: toward chimpanzee rights (Impact Ethics, 5/19/18)
  • Humans Are Dumb At Figuring Out How Smart Animals Are (FiveThirtyEight, 5/18/18)
  • US civil rights group hails historic progress in the fight to secure fundamental rights for nonhuman animals (The Independent, 5/16/18)
  • Court of Appeals judge ‘struggled’ over chimp rights fight (Albany Times Union, 5/14/18)
  • Judge on NY’s top court waxes philosophical: Why chimpanzees deserve liberty, too (Syracuse.com, 5/14/18)
  • Why human rights groups are beginning to support the rights of non-human animals (Transformation, 5/13/18)
  • Court denies chimpanzee rights bid (Chronicle Herald, 5/13/18)
  • Nonhumans Had A Small but Unprecedented Win In Court This Week (Forbes, 5/11/18)
  • NY’s highest court rejects bid to grant chimps ‘legal personhood’ (Newsday, 5/10/18)
  • Judge Dives Into Ethics at Close of Caged Chimp Case (Courthouse News Service, 5/10/18)
  • Chimpanzees Not Entitled to Habeas Relief, But Should They Be? (Reason, 5/10/18)
  • A judge just raised deep questions about chimpanzees’ legal rights (Washington Post, 5/9/18)
  • Groundbreaking! Judge States Chimpanzees Are Not ‘Things’ (One Green Planet, 5/9/18)
  • Court ruling denies appeal for Tommy and Kiko, but not their rights (Big Think, 5/9/18)
  • Puget Sound Initiative: Securing Rights for Southern Resident Killer Whales (Eco Magazine, 5/8/18)
  • Legal personhood for non-human animals? The case of the Nonhuman Rights Project (UK Human Rights Blog, 4/26/18)
  • Dal philosophers join cause for chimpanzee rights (The Chronicle Herald, 4/25/18)
  • Animal Advocates and Academics Seek Personhood Rights for Chimpanzees (Seeker, 4/20/18)
  • Professor Thinks Chimpanzees Should Be Legally Considered People (NYU’s Washington Square News, 4/16/18)
  • Opinion: Should Chimpanzees Be Considered ‘Persons’? (The New York Times, 4/7/18)
  • An Interview With Lawyer and Activist Steven M. Wise (The Animals Voice Magazine, March/April 2018)
  • Chimpanzees: Persons or Things? (Bioethics Forum Essay, The Hastings Center, 3/28/18)
  • Famous chimps among the newest residents at north Georgia sanctuary (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/26/18)
  • Freedom for research chimps: Hercules and Leo are released to a sanctuary (Changing Times Media, 3/24/18)
  • Public support for animal rights goes beyond keeping dogs out of overhead bins (The Conversation, 3/22/18)
  • U.S. chimp retirement gains momentum, as famed pair enters sanctuary (Science, 3/21/18)
  • Can You Be A Person If You’re Not Human? (Forbes, 3/13/18)
  • We Need to Talk About Sentient Robots (Forbes, 3/13/18)
  • Judge denies motion to reargue Goshen elephant case (The Register Citizen, 3/2/18)
  • Why philosophers say chimps have to be considered persons (Big Think, 3/2/18)
  • Interview with NhRP Executive Director Kevin Schneider (SOLink, Kirit P Mehta School of Law, March 2018)
  • When the Law Recognizes Animals as People (The Atlantic, 2/2/18)
  • The Nonhuman Rights Project continues to fight for elephant rights in Connecticut (UCONN’s Daily Campus, 1/29/18)
  • Connecticut Elephants Case Unlikely To Be Soon Forgotten (Connecticut Law Tribune, 1/24/18)
  • The new science of animal cognition is forcing countries to overhaul their laws (Quartz, 1/24/18)
  • Steven Wise: The Nonhuman Rights Project (OMTimes Magazine, 1/20/18)
  • Niagara Falls chimp case appeal denied (The Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, 1/19/18)
  • Animals, Exploitation, and Art: The Work of Colleen Plumb (Psychology Today, 1/11/18)
  • Lawyer “Rattles the Cage” Seeking Legal Rights for Animals (Jane Unchained, 1/7/18)

2017

  • Judge denies petition to free elephants from Connecticut zoo (New Haven Register, 12/27/17)
  • Animal Rights! (Speaking Tree, 12/16/17)
  • Champion of animal rights says they are thinking, feeling persons (The Times of India, 12/2/17)
  • Unlocking the Cage for animals and bringing in good science (The Hindu Business Line, December 2017)
  • Batting for an equal world (Deccan Chronicle, 11/29/17)
  • The elephant in the courtroom: Civil rights group argues denying personhood to animals contradicts the rule of law (The Independent, 11/22/17)
  • Are These Zoo Elephants Entitled to Legal ‘Personhood’? (Care2, 11/21/17)
  • Elephants are autonomous and conscious, and deserve their day in court (Quartz, 11/17/17)
  • Elephants should be recognized as legal persons, argues Connecticut lawsuit (Inhabitat, 11/16/17)
  • Lawsuit Seeks “Personhood” for Three Connecticut Elephants (Smithsonian, 11/16/17)
  • Lawyers are going to court to prove these three elephants are persons, and can’t be owned (Mashable, 11/14/17)
  • Connecticut Lawsuit Is the First to Claim Elephants as Legal Persons (Gizmodo, 11/14/17)
  • Three elephants in Connecticut just got a lawyer (Washington Post, 11/14/17)
  • Do Elephants Have Rights? In Landmark Lawsuit, The Nonhuman Rights Project Declare That They Do (Inquisitr, 11/14/17)
  • This Organization Wants to Get Legal Rights for 3 Captive Elephants – Here’s Why This Is Important (One Green Planet, 11/14/17)
  • Elephants at Commerford Zoo at center of lawsuit; group contends they are unlawfully imprisoned (New Haven Register, 11/13/17)
  • Nonprofit’s Lawsuit Seeks to Release 3 Conn. Elephants (Connecticut Law Tribune, 11/13/17)
  • First-ever animal rights lawsuit filed on behalf of zoo elephants (New York Post, 11/13/17)
  • Elephants Are Legal Persons And Deserve To Be Free, Group Claims In Court Petition (Newsweek, 11/13/17)
  • Elephants Deserve Legal ‘Personhood,’ New Lawsuit Argues In Connecticut (NBC News, 11/13/17)
  • Adwokat szympansów. “Wszystkie gatunki zwierząt powinny otrzymać swoje prawa” (Osiem Dziewięć, 9/29/17)
  • Is this chimpanzee a non-human person? (The Independent, 9/13/17)
  • Interview: Steve Wise of the Nonhuman Rights Project (My Dream for Animals, August 2017)
  • An Interview with Writer and NhRP Communications Director Lauren Choplin (www.hopeferdowsian.com, 8/3/17)
  • Nonhuman rights: is it time to unlock the cage? (Bostonia, Summer 2017)
  • Confused American jurisprudence on human and non-human life (Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse, 6/19/17)
  • Chimpanzees are not ‘persons,’ appeals court says (Washington Post, 6/10/17)
  • Appeals Court Says Chimps Are Not Legal Persons—Here’s Why They’re Wrong (Gizmodo, 6/9/17)
  • Advocates of Caged NY Chimps Lose Habeas Appeal (Courthouse News Service, 6/9/17)
  • Appeals court rules that chimps still aren’t people (New York Post, 6/8/17)
  • Chimps are not people, cannot be freed from custody: New York court (Reuters, 6/8/17)
  • This lawyer isn’t monkeying around (Nonprofit Chronicles, 6/6/17)
  • A Legal Fight for Nonhuman Animals Thousands of Years in the Making (HuffPost, 5/11/17)
  • Chimps Could Soon Win Legal Personhood (YES! Magazine, 4/29/17)
  • Corporations and rivers now have rights. Animals are next (Philly Daily News, 4/18/17)
  • How Colleen Plumb Uses Her Art to Highlight the Plight of Animals in Captivity (Village Voice, 4/5/17)
  • Things to Persons: Steven Wise and the Nonhuman Rights Project (The Gazelle, 4/1/17)
  • Should animals count as persons under the law? (Dallas Morning News, 3/23/17)
  • Precedent in Chimpanzee Rights Cases Could Backfire on Humans: Lawyer (NBC News, 3/17/17)
  • Em nome de Tommy e Kiko (piauí, 3/16/17)
  • Chimpanzees are animals. But are they ‘persons’? (Washington Post, 3/16/17)
  • New York court to determine if chimp is legally a person (Associated Press, 3/16/17)
  • Chimp Advocate Doggedly Pursues Animal Rights (New York Law Journal, 3/15/17)
  • New York Chimps Will Get Another Day in Court (The Wall Street Journal, 3/14/17)
  • Should a Chimpanzee Be Considered a Person? (Gizmodo, 3/13/17)
  • Primal Rights: One Attorney’s Quest for Chimpanzee Personhood (Law360, 3/13/17)
  • Do Apes Deserve ‘Personhood’ Rights? Lawyer Heads to N.Y. Supreme Court to Make Case (NBC News, 3/11/17)
  • ‘Unlocking the Cage’ Debates Personhood (EcoSalon, 2/27/2017)
  • HBO’s ‘Unlocking the Cage’ doesn’t just want to free the chimps (The Daily Dot, 2/24/17)
  • The True Story of ‘Unlocking the Cage’: The Latest Fight for Animal Rights (Men’s Journal, 2/21/17)
  • ‘Unlocking the Cage swings into animal ‘personhood’ debate (CNN, 2/20/17)
  • Progressing the Person and Policy (Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology, 1/24/17)
  • True Grit: How To Fight 30 Years for Your Life’s Purpose (Forbes, 1/20/17)

2016

  • The Nonhuman Rights Project: An Interview with Steven Wise (Psychology Today, 12/16/16)
  • Volksinitiative verlangt Grundrechte für Primaten (INFOsperber, 11/15/16)
  • Why Granting Animals’ ‘Personhood’ is so Important (One Green Planet, 10/29/16)
  • We Are Not Alone: Listening to the 8.7 Million Other Animals Who Live on Earth (Truthout, 10/1/16)
  • Who Speaks for the Trees? (The Baffler, 9/7/16)
  • The lawyer fighting for animal rights in ‘Unlocking the Cage’ asks: ‘What kind of being are you?’ (Los Angeles Times, 6/24/16)
  • This Lawyer Is Fighting To Give Chimpanzees Legal Rights (Huffington Post, 6/1016)
  • Unlocking The Cage Premieres in New York City (Their Turn, 6/7/16)
  • Chimp Who Has Spent Lifetime In Concrete Cell Is Missing” (The Dodo, 6/3/16)
  • Review: Unlocking the Cage (rogerebert.com, 5/25/16)
  • Review: In ‘Unlocking the Cage,’ a Struggle to Raise the Legal Status of Chimpanzees (The New York Times, 5/24/16)
  • This man is trying to help chimps — and soon, elephants — sue their owners (Washington Post, 5/24/16)
  • Chimpanzees are about to have their ‘Blackfish’ moment (Fusion, 5/16/16)
  • The 30-Year Fight for Chimps’ Rights (Sydney Morning Herald, 5/3/15)
  • Is a chimp a person? Advocates take it to court (Albany Times Union, 4/4/16)
  • Are Animals ‘Things’? (Harvard Magazine, March-April 2016)
  • Lawyer says 2 chimpanzees held captive in New Iberia Research Center (The Times-Picayune, 3/9/16)
  • Film Review: Unlocking the Cage (Variety, 2/8/16)
  • Jane Goodall Deployed in Battle over Star Chimp” (Courthouse News Service, 1/11/16)
  • ‘Personhood’ chimpanzees returned to owners, ending animal rights litigation (Science, 1/8/16)

2015

  • Animals Are Persons, Too (Earth Island Journal, Winter 2015)
  • Group Files New Habeas to Release Captive Chimp (New York Law Journal, 12/9/15)
  • Why the public applauds the dwindling attraction of animal acts (Washington Post, 11/10/15)
  • CHIMPANZÉS SEQUESTRADOS (piauí, Oct. 2015)
  • No habeas corpus; chimps are lab ‘property’ (Arc Technica, 8/3/15)
  • Judge denies legal personhood for chimps—for now (Slate, 7/31/15)
  • Chimps Aren’t People, New York State Supreme Court Judge Rules (Wall Street Journal, 7/30/15)
  • Arguing in Court Whether 2 Chimps Have the Right to ‘Bodily Liberty’ (The New York Times, 5/27/15)
  • Chimpanzee Rights Get A Day in Court (WIRED, 5/27/15)
  • “Research Chimps Get Their Day in Court in New York (NPR, 5/27/15)
  • Chimpanzee representatives argue for animals’ rights in New York court (The Guardian, 5/27/15)
  • NYC judge hears argument on rights of chimpanzees (Chicago Tribune, 5/27/15)
  • Elephants are people too (or soon could be) (Al Jazeera America, 4/23/15)
  • Are Chimps Entitled to Personhood Rights? NY Court to Decide (LiveScience, 4/23/15)
  • NY judge recognizes chimps as persons: A step toward legal rights for animals? (Christian Science Monitor, 4/21/15)
  • New York Judge Grants Chimpanzees a Hearing (Wall Street Journal, 4/21/15)
  • A New York Judge Has Granted Legal Person Rights to Chimpanzees (io9, 4/21/15)
  • People Are Animals, Too: The Truth about Animal Intelligence (Buzzfeed, 2/11/15)

2014

  • Chimps Are Persons Too: The Nonhuman Rights Project and the Quest for Animal Rights (Laika, 12/31/14)
  • A Lawyer Makes the Case That Chimpanzees Should Be Legal People (VICE, 10/13/14)
  • Chimp Plaintiffs Get Their Day in Court in Pursuit of Personhood (The Dodo, 10/13/14)
  • The battle to make Tommy the chimp a person (BBC News Magazine, 10/9/14)
  • See you in court: human rights fight for chimp (Sunday Times UK, 10/5/14)
  • Should Chimps Be Given Human Rights? (Mirror UK, 10/5/14)
  • Courts Will Decide if Chimpanzees Should Have Same Rights as Humans (New York Post, 10/4/14)
  • Appeals Court to Weigh Personhood for Chimpanzees (Albany Times Union, 10/3/14)
  • Oregon Comes Closer to Recognizing Animal Personhood (Ecorazzi, 9/8/14)
  • NhRP’s Fight for Animal Rights (Vue Weekly, 8/20/14)
  • Animals Are More Than Mere Things. Let’s Treat Them That Way (Huffington Post, 7/21/14)
  • Steven Wise, President of the Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. (Sun Sentinel, 6/24/14)
  • Should a Chimp be Able to Sue Its Owner (New York Times Magazine, 4/23/14)
  • “Are Animal Rights ‘Human’ Rights? (Huffington Post, 2/6/14)
  • Chimpanzees Sue For Their Freedom (With A Little Human Help) (Huffington Post, 1/23/14)

2013

  • Animal rights group fights for SBU chimps (Village Times Herald, 12/12/13)
  • Courts Say Chimps Aren’t People (TIME, 12/10/13)
  • Considering the Humanity of Nonhumans (The New York Times, 12/9/13)
  • A Chimp’s Day in Court: Inside the Historic Demand for Nonhuman Rights (WIRED, 12/6/13)
  • NY court asked to give chimpanzee ‘legal person’ status (BBC, 12/4/13)
  • Will chimps soon have human rights? (The Guardian, 12/4/13)
  • This Man Was Shocked When His Chimpanzee Sued Him (Daily Beast, 12/3/13)
  • Rights Group Is Seeking Status of ‘Legal Person’ for Captive Chimpanzee (The New York Times, 12/2/13)
  • Lawsuits Could Turn Chimpanzees Into Legal Persons (Science, 12/2/13)
  • Tommy the chimpanzee wants to be like you: Nonhuman rights group sues to make primate a LEGAL PERSON (Daily Mail, 12/2/13)
  • Non-Human Persons; Elephants, Great Apes, and Cetaceans Have Brilliant Attorneys to Represent Them (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 12/2/13)
  • Nonhuman Rights Will Start With a Chimp (timzimmernan.com, 7/16/13)
  • Should Chimpanzees Have Legal Rights (Boston Globe, 7/13/13)

2012

  • Championing Life and Liberty for Animals (NPR, 10/25/12)

Radio/Podcasts

  • Happy the elephant to stay at Bronx Zoo after animal rights group loses court challenge (WCBS 880, 12/17/20)
  • Part III: Happy, the elephant you will never forget (Tortoise, 10/14/20)
  • Part II: Happy, the elephant who knew who she was (Tortoise, 10/13/20)
  • Part I: Happy, the elephant in the courtroom (Tortoise, 10/12/20)
  • Animals Like Us (Big Picture Science, 6/24/19)
  • Kevin Schneider: The Battle for Legal Personhood for Chimpanzees and Elephants (Species Unite, July 2019)
  • Animal rights group seeks legal ‘personhood’ for elephant (WXXI, 12/14/18)
  • Why One Lawyer Wants Elephants To Be Considered ‘Persons’ (New England Public Radio, 11/15/18)
  • Hacking the Law (TED Radio Hour, 10/12/18)
  • Guest: The Nonhuman Rights Project (Earth Matters, 5/14/18)
  • Guest: NhRP Executive Director Kevin Schneider (Animals Today, 1/27/18)
  • Animal Law Podcast #32: The Case of the Enslaved Elephants (Our Hen House, 1/31/18)
  • Do Animals Need to Be Called Persons? (KPFA Terra Verde, 1/5/18)
  • The Nonhuman Rights Project Advocates For Zoo Animals (NPR’s Weekend Edition with Scott Simon, 11/18/17)
  • The Legal Rights of Animals (Legal Talk Network’s Lawyer2Lawyer, 7/7/17)
  • Should AI be granted legal personhood? (ABC Radio National’s Future Tense, 6/25/17)
  • An Evolving Topic: Animal Rights with Prof. Sarah Schneider and NhRP President Steven M. Wise (Robot F. Kennedy, 4/18/17)
  • Steve Wise, Attorney and founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project (The Frank Beckmann Show, 3/14/17)
  • Almost Human Rights (BBC Radio 4, 12/20/16)
  • Steven M. Wise, Nonhuman Rights Project (It’s All About Food with Caryn Hartglass, 12/20/16)
  • Episode 2, featuring Steve Wise (Our Hen House Animal Law Podcast, 7/31/15)
  • Episode 1, featuring Steve Wise (Our Hen House Animal Law Podcast, 7/28/15)
  • Steven Wise, Habeas corpus for chimpanzees (Radio New Zealand, 7/14/15)
  • What About Non-human Rights? (Wisconsin Public Radio, 5/22/14)
  • The Fight for Legal Rights for Animals (The Diane Rehm Show, 4/28/14)
  • Granting rights and personhood to animals (CBC Radio, 12/12/13)
  • The Fight for Legal Personhood for Chimpanzees (ABC Radio National, 5/8/15)
  • Michael Mountain explains landmark lawsuits (Animals Today Radio, 12/23/13)
  • American chimpanzee Tommy to be granted legal personhood (Voice of Russia Radio, 12/3/13)

Television & Video

  • Judge Rules ‘Happy the Elephant’ Not Entitled to Human Rights (NY1, 2/22/20)
  • Animal Rights Group Wants Elephant Removed From Bronx Zoo (CBS New York, 10/21/19)
  • Court Hearing to be Held Over Status of Bronx Zoo Elephant (NY 1, 9/23/19)
  • ‘Free Happy’: Bronx Zoo Faces Pressure to Release Elephant Living Alone Since Companion Died 13 Years Ago (NY1, 6/7/19)
  • Happy the elephant has day in Orleans County Court over her captivity (WHAM Rochester, 12/14/18)
  • Bronx Zoo Elephant Is Being ‘Unlawfully Imprisoned,’ Advocacy Group Says (NBC New York, 10/2/18)
  • Animal Rights Group Takes Legal Action For Elephant ‘Unlawfully Imprisoned’ At Bronx Zoo (CBS New York, 10/2/18)
  • Call to end wild animal acts at the Big E after viral Facebook post (Western Mass News, 9/24/18)
  • Elephants have legal rights too: animal rights group (Fox Business, 11/17/17)
  • Lawsuit filed against Goshen zoo concerning elephant rights (WTNH News 8, 11/14/17)
  • WATCH: Animal rights lawyer says zoos are solitary confinement for animals (Salon, 3/14/17)
  • Unlocking the Cage – Film looks at chimpanzee rights (BBC World News, 3/2/17)
  • Should Chimpanzees Have The Same Legal Rights as Humans? (Fox News, 5/27/15)
  • Steven Wise: Chimps have feelings and thoughts. They should also have rights.” (TED Talk, 3/15)
  • Are Chimps People Too? A Potential Legal Evolution (Wall Street Journal, 10/9/14)
  • Nonhuman Rights Project Aims to Grant Legal Personhood Status to Some Species (THIRTEEN, 5/14/14)
  • Featured Guest – NhRP President Steven M. Wise (The Colbert Report, 7/7/14)
  • Animals Are Persons Too (New York Times Op-Doc, 4/23/14)

Op-Eds/Opinion

  • Professor Laurence Tribe: Why we should free the elephants: Happy, prisoner of the Bronx Zoo (New York Daily News, 7/18/20)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Letter #3 from the Front Lines of the Struggle for Nonhuman Rights: October 2018 to June 2020 (Medium, 6/22/20)
  • Dr. Joyce Poole: Elephants don’t belong in zoos: Happy needs to move from the Bronx (New York Daily News, 6/30/19)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Letter #2 from the Front Lines of the Struggle for Nonhuman Rights: January 2018 to September 2018 (Medium, 9/27/19)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: What Happy the elephant deserves: Give the Bronx Zoo’s pachyderm freedom (New York Daily News, 5/26/19)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Progress in the Fight for Nonhuman Rights (New York Daily News, 5/26/18)
  • Professor Jeff Sebo: Should Chimpanzees Be Considered ‘Persons’? (The New York Times, 4/7/18)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Letter #1 from the Front Lines of the Struggle for Nonhuman Rights: the First 50 Months (Medium, 1/29/18)
  • NhRP Executive Director Kevin Schneider: What We Can Learn From the Case of the LA Zoo Elephants That Proves These Elephants Deserve Rights (One Green Planet, 6/9/17)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: A Legal Fight for Nonhuman Animals Thousands of Years in the Making (Huff Post, 5/11/17)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: What Chimpanzees Deserve (New York Daily News, 3/16/17)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Toward Animal Personhood (Foreign Affairs, 7/11/16)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Harambe’s rights were violated long before his tragic death (New York Daily News, 5/30/16)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Animal Rights, Animal Wrongs (Foreign Affairs, 4/28/15)
  • Former NhRP Executive Director Natalie Prosin: Ringling Brothers is Finally Freeing Its Elephant Performers. It’s Not Nearly Enough (Washington Post, 3/10/15)
  • Former NhRP Executive Director Natalie Prosin: Corporations have legal rights. Chimpanzees should have them too (Washington Post, 9/9/14)
  • NhRP President Steven M. Wise: Oregon’s top court brings ‘personhood’ for animals closer: Guest opinion (The Oregonian, 9/6/14)

Selected Journal Articles (not authored by the NhRP)

  • Craig Ewasiuk, Escape Routes: The Possibility of Habeas Corpus Protection for Animals Under Modern Social Contract Theory, 48 Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 69 (2017)
  • Bryan Vayr, Of Chimps and Men: Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights and How Losing the Legal Battle May Win the Political War for Endangered Species, 2017 U. Ill. L. Rev. 817, 857 (2017)
  • Lane K. Bogard, An Exploration of How Laws Tend to Maintain the Oppression of Women and Animals, 38 Whittier L. Rev. 1, 49 (2017)
  • Angela Lee, Telling Tails: The Promises and Pitfalls of Language and Narratives in Animal Advocacy Efforts, 23 Animal L. 241, 254 (2017)
  • Martha C. Nussbaum, Working with and for Animals: Getting the Theoretical Framework Right, 94 Denv. L. Rev. 609, 615 (2017)
  • Richard L. Cupp, Jr., Focusing on Human Responsibility Rather Than Legal Personhood for Nonhuman Animals, 33 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 517, 518 (2016)
  • Ross Campbell, Justifying Force Against Animal Cruelty, 12 J. Animal & Nat. Resource L. 129, 151 (2016)
  • Joan E. Schaffner, Chapter 11 Blackfish and Public Outcry: A Unique Political and Legal Opportunity for Fundamental Change to the Legal Protection of Marine Mammals in the United States, 53 IUS Gentium 237, 256 (2016)
  • Andrew Jensen Kerr, Writing About Nonpersons, 164 U. PA. L. Rev. Online 77, 84 (2016)
  • Richard L. Cupp, Jr., Human Responsibility, Not Legal Personhood, for Nonhuman Animals, 16 Engage: J. Federalist Soc’y Prac. Groups 34 (2015)
  • Erica R. Tatoian, Animals in the Law: Occupying A Space Between Legal Personhood and Personal Property, 31 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 147, 156 (2015)
  • Taimie L. Bryant, Social Psychology and the Value of Vegan Business Representation for Animal Law Reform, 2015 Mich. St. L. Rev. 1521, 1556 (2015)
  • Andrew Jensen Kerr, Coercing Friendship and the Problem with Human Rights, 50 U.S.F.L. Rev. F. 1, 6 (2015)
  • Jenny B. Davis, Animal Instincts This Washington, D.C., Lawyer Wants the Common Law to Evolve to Grant Basic Human Rights to Complex Animals, ABA J., November 2015, at 11
  • Emily A. Fitzgerald, (Ape)rsonhood, 34 Rev. Litig. 337, 338 (2015)
  • Alexis Dyschkant, Legal Personhood: How We Are Getting It Wrong, 2015 U. Ill. L. Rev. 2075, 2109 (2015)
  • David E. Burke, Lawsuits Seeking Personhood for Chimpanzees Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg, Orange County Law., April 2014, at 18
  • Brian Sullivan, Instant Evolution Some Espouse Fauna/flora Fast Track to Personhood As Means of Legal Protection, ABA J., February 2014, at 71
  • Tania Rice, Letting the Apes Run the Zoo: Using Tort Law to Provide Animals with A Legal Voice, 40 Pepp. L. Rev. 1103, 1128 (2013)
  • Emma A. Maddux, Time to Stand: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Nonhuman Animal Standing, 47 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1243, 1261 (2012)
  • Joyce Tischler, A Brief History of Animal Law, Part II (1985 – 2011), 5 Stan. J. Animal L. & Pol’y 27, 60 (2012)

NhRP Publications

Books

  • Steven M. Wise, An American Trilogy: Death, Slavery, and Dominion on the Banks of the Cape Fear River (Da Capo Press 2009).
  • Steven M. Wise, Though the Heavens May Fall: The Landmark Trial that Led to the End of Human Slavery (Da Capo Press 2005).
  • Steven M. Wise, Drawing the Line: Science and the Case for Animal Rights (Perseus Publishing 2002).
  • Steven M. Wise, Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals (Perseus Publishing 2000 US)(Profile Books, UK 2000).

Book Chapters

  • Steven M. Wise, “Entitling Nonhuman Animals to Fundamental Legal Rights on the Basis of Practical Autonomy” in Animals, Ethics, and Trade (Earthscan 2006)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Animal Rights, One Step at a Time” in Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions (Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum, eds., Oxford University Press 2004)
  • Steven M. Wise, “A Great Shout – Breaking the Barriers to Legal Rights for Great Apes” in Great Apes and Humans – The Ethics of Coexistence (Smithsonian Press, 2001), reprinted in Animal Rights (Clare Palmer, ed. The International Library on Rights, Routledge 2008), and in The Animal Ethics Reader (Susan J. Armstrong and Richard G. Boltzler, eds. Routledge 2003)

Law Review Articles

  • Joyce Tischler, Monica Miller, Steven M. Wise, Elizabeth Stein, Manumission for Chimpanzees, 84 Tenn. L. Rev. 509, 511 (2017)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Introduction to Animal Law Book,” 67 Syracuse L. Rev. 7 (2017)
  • Steven M. Wise, Elizabeth Stein, Monica Miller & Sarah Stone, “The Power of Municipalities to Enact Legislation Granting Legal Rights to Nonhuman Animals Pursuant to Home Rule,” 67 Syracuse L. Rev. 31 (2017)
  • Blake M. Mills and Steven M. Wise, “The Writ De Homine Replegiando: A Common Law Path to Nonhuman Animal Rights,” George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal (Spring 2015)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Legal Personhood and the Nonhuman Rights Project” 17 Animal Law 1 (2011)
  • Steven M. Wise, Commentary, “An Argument for the Basic Rights of Farmed Animals” 106 Mich. L. Rev. First Impressions (2008)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Arguments in Favour of Basic Legal Rights for Nonhumans” Reform (Australian Law Reform Commission March, 2008)
  • Steven M. Wise, “The entitlement of chimpanzees to the common law writs of habeas corpus and de homine replegiando to challenge their legal thinghood” 37(2) Golden Gate Law Review 219 ( 2007)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Rattling the Cage Defended” 43 Boston College Law Review 623 ( 2002)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Legal status of nonhuman animals” 8 Animal Law 1 (2002)(symposium participant)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Animal Thing to Animal Person – Thoughts on Time, Place, and Theories” 5 Animal Law 59 (1999)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Hardly a Revolution – The Eligibility of Nonhuman Animals for Dignity Rights in a Liberal Democracy” 22 Vermont Law Review 793 (1998)
  • Dr. Jane Goodall and Steven M. Wise, “Why Chimpanzees are Entitled to Fundamental Legal Rights” Joint Presentation to Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, August 2, 1996, reprinted in 3 Animal Law 61 (1997)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Legal Rights for Nonhuman Animals: The Case for Chimpanzees and Bonobos” 2 Animal Law 179 (1996).
  • Steven M. Wise, “The Legal Thinghood of Nonhuman Animals” 23(2) Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review 471 (1996), reprinted in 3 Private Law Review (2003) and 4 Private Law Review (2004)(China University of Politics and Law Publishing)
  • Steven M. Wise, “How Nonhuman Animals Became Trapped in a Nonexistent Universe” 1 Animal Law 15 (1995)

Encyclopedia Articles

  • Steven M. Wise, “Animal Rights,” Encyclopedia Britannica

Selected Articles

  • Steven M. Wise, “A law for the jungle” Times Higher Education Supplement 18 (June 14, 2002)(UK)
  • Steven M. Wise, “Why Animals Deserve Legal Rights” in Chronicle of Higher Education (February 2, 2001), reprinted in Contemporary Issues Companion: Animal Rights (CICAR)(Jesse Hallmark, ed. Gale Group 2004); Convergences (2nd. ed. 2004, Robert Atwan, ed. St. Martin’s 2004); Writing from Sources (Brenda Spatt, ed., St. Martin’s 2002) and America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals (5th ed., Robert Atwan, ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s 2002)

 

“

I think it’s time now to be bold, to throw open our imagination and envision a different future for chimpanzees like Tommy. This is what visionaries like Wise encourage us to do: to stand apart from the mainstream and pose new solutions. If those solutions come with a set of challenging questions attached, let’s open a conversation about them, and meet them head on.

”
- Barbara J. King, "TIME"
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