Dear John xxxxxx,
Ten years ago today, New York Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe became the first judge in history to hold a habeas corpus hearing to determine the lawfulness of a nonhuman animal’s imprisonment. During the hearing, the NhRP’s late founder Steven Wise argued for the right to liberty of two chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo, held captive at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and used in locomotion research. A lawyer from the New York Attorney General’s office argued that Hercules and Leo should remain legal “things” with no rights and remain imprisoned. That same summer, Stony Brook stopped using them in research in response to the public pressure generated by our lawsuit. Three years later, they became residents of Project Chimps sanctuary.
Today on our blog, NhRP Senior Staff Attorney Spencer Lo reflects on the importance of this hearing in the history of the NhRP and the nonhuman rights movement: |
As Spencer writes, “Never before had a judge so directly, and so openly, questioned the unjust status quo. For the first time, the liberty claims of imprisoned nonhuman animals were treated in a court of law with the gravity and seriousness they deserved.”
Sowing the seeds of justice for nonhuman animals
Thirty years ago, our founder planted a simple, yet transformative idea: nonhuman animals are entitled not just to our compassion but to actual, enforceable legal rights. What began as one lawyer on a mission to end the legal “thinghood” of members of other species has grown into a movement rooted in the belief that our most cherished values and principles of justice–liberty, equality, fairness–should protect nonhuman animals, too. Help us grow what’s next by donating to the NhRP during the final days of our spring fundraising campaign–through May 30th, all donations up to $5,000 will be doubled thanks to a generous donation match from a longstanding NhRP supporter.
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