Ironically, 48-year-old Happy the elephant is far from what her name suggests. This majestic creature has lived in miserable captivity almost her entire life. On top of that, the extremely social elephant has been forced to live alone for the last 13 years in the Bronx Zoo -- which horrifyingly won the title of America's fifth worst zoo for elephants in 2021. Now, the Nonhuman Rights Project is taking her case to New York's highest court to demand that the Bronx Zoo release Happy to an elephant sanctuary where she can benefit from the connection, enrichment, and freedom that these highly intelligent creatures need in order to thrive.
Happy deserves to live out the rest of her life in a suitable environment where she can bond with other elephants and express her natural behaviors!
In 2005, Happy passed a mirror test, and her advocates argue that this recognition of her own reflection proves she has self-awareness. The Nonhuman Rights Project's legal case focuses on this self awareness, arguing that Happy's advanced intelligence means she should have the rights of protection against unlawful imprisonment, much like a person. Her heightened intelligence means that her mundane, solitary, and unnatural living situation is causing her acute suffering. Sign the petition to demand that the Bronx Zoo free Happy from a lifetime of loneliness and release her to an elephant sanctuary!
