Elephants do not have any legal standing to sue a zoo over not being allowed to leave for an elephant sanctuary, the Supreme Court of Colorado has ruled. An animal rights group had been trying to free five elderly elephants currently living at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The Nonhuman Rights Project had cited a legal process known as “habeas corpus” that allows individuals in custody to legally challenge their detention or incarceration.
The Court ruled 6-0 in support of an earlier district court decision, saying the question “boils down to whether an elephant is a person.”
“It bears noting that the narrow legal question before this court does not turn on our regard for these majestic animals generally or these five elephants specifically,” State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter wrote in her ruling. But “because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim” under Colorado law.
The executive director for the Nonhuman Rights Project, Christopher Berry, called the Court’s decision “alarming.” He said it diminished the court’s power “to protect the right to liberty when it is violated.” Regardless of this decision, Berry said support for recognizing the legal rights of animals continues to grow.
However, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was pleased with the ruling. “While we’re happy with this outcome, we are disappointed that it ever came to this,” the zoo said. “For the past 19 months, we’ve been subjected to their misrepresented attacks, and we’ve wasted valuable time and money responding to them in courts and in the court of public opinion.”
In a similar decision in 2022, a New York court ruled that an Asian elephant at the Bronx Zoo named Happy did not have a “right to liberty.” Meanwhile, Berry’s group has two other cases pending on appeal. One of them concerns chimpanzees at a roadside zoo in Michigan and the other involves two elephants at an Hawaiian zoo.
Comments: Here is an issue that will surely find well-meaning people on both sides of the issue. There is no question though that Christians are expected to care for their animals. Proverbs 12:10 states: "The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."
In making their case, zoos point out some of the benefits they offer. The Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) says that at least the facilities they accredit are expected to maintain high standards that include animal welfare, veterinary care, conservation, education, guest experiences, and more.
AZA zoos and aquariums publicize lists of animals that are threatened with extinction. AZA says that in 2019 its members spent more than $230 million on field conservation work in 127 countries, focusing on population biology and monitoring, reintroduction, conservation education, and more. This organization has helped reintroduce animals into the wild such as California condors.
In addition, AZA says its facilities help to repair ecosystems, help to rehabilitate wild animals needing assistance, conduct educational programs, and invest millions on research.
To be sure, the majority of people likely would oppose some practices involving animals, such as dog fighting, bullfighting, and housing chickens in tiny cages. Medical research involving animals such as monkeys, rats, and pigs should unquestionably be conducted in such a way that the animals are subjected to as little suffering as possible. Researchers are even looking for alternatives to the use of animals.
No one should argue that eating meat is un-Christian even though it involves killing animals. In the Old Testament God told Noah and his sons: “Every living, moving thing will be food for you. I have given everything to you, just as I gave you the green plants.” Genesis 9:3. God even commanded the Israelites to butcher lambs as part of the Passover observance. Rams and bulls were also killed by God’s people. In the New Testament, Jesus caught and prepared fish for His disciples (John 21).
Animals, like all other gifts God has given us, should be used for our benefit and not abused. Yet, we are most appreciative of God’s spiritual gifts–salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
“But the gracious gift is not like Adam’s trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of this one man, it is even more certain that God’s grace, and the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many!” Romans 5:15
By Warren Krug
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
Where can sand dunes higher than the Empire State Building be found?
In the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa where sand dunes can reach as high as 1,300 feet.
Source: Laura Smetak, “Sand–It Gets Everywhere,” Answers [January-March, 2025], page 50.
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