Rights protect against intolerable wrongs—no matter who you are.
With persistence and rigor, we're challenging a centuries-old status quo that unjustly sees all nonhuman animals as legal "things" with no rights.
History made: Pennsylvania issues its first-ever habeas corpus order for nonhuman animals
The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas issued Pennsylvania’s first-ever habeas corpus order for a nonhuman animal, moving forward our petition on behalf of our clients, the five African elephants held captive by the Pittsburgh Zoo. The first order sets a January 28 hearing on the zoo’s Motion to Dismiss the NhRP petition. If the motion is denied, the second order requires the zoo to show cause justifying the elephants’ continued confinement under the law at a full hearing on the petition’s merits as soon as March.
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Learn about our unique mission and work.
Our clients
Our initial cases demand the right to liberty of self-aware, autonomous nonhuman beings who undeniably suffer when deprived of their freedom.
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The Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc.
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #345
Washington, DC 20003
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #345
Washington, DC 20003
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Submit a message to help #FreeTheFresnoElephants.
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Submit a message to help #FreeHappy and #FreePatty.
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Join others in calling for Happy's freedom.
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Elephants don’t belong in zoos.
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Join others in calling for freedom for the Fresno Chaffee Zoo elephants.
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The science is clear. When will the law catch up?
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I believe in a world where nonhuman rights are protected alongside human rights.
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We aren’t the only beings who need and want to live freely.
Media coverage
New Yorker
“A curious legal crusade is raising profound questions about the interdependence of the animal and human kingdoms.”
Associated Press
“Animal rights activists have started legal efforts aimed at removing elephants from zoos.”
The Atlantic
“No case like this has ever reached so high a court, anywhere in the English-speaking world.”
A brief history of the NhRP's impact
As in any fight for social justice, persistence is key to progress. Below are some key milestones in our fight for nonhuman rights.
December 2013
The NhRP launches our long-term litigation campaign in New York with habeas corpus petitions demanding the right to liberty of four captive chimpanzees.
May 2015
Our chimpanzee clients Hercules and Leo become the first nonhuman animals in history to have habeas corpus hearings to determine the lawfulness of their imprisonment.
May 2018
A judge on New York's highest court urges his fellow judges to treat our clients' rightlessness as “a deep dilemma of ethics and policy that demands our attention."
November 2017
The NhRP files the first-ever habeas corpus petition on behalf of elephants.
May 2022
The New York Court of Appeals becomes the highest court in the US to hear arguments in support of nonhuman animal rights in our elephant client Happy's case.
June 2022
Two judges on New York's highest court issue powerful dissents in support of Happy the elephant's right to liberty.
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