Dear John,

Today, on the 248th anniversary of the monumental Somerset v. Stewart decision, NhRP President Steven M. Wise’s new Letter from the Front Lines of the Struggle for Nonhuman Rights analyzes the dilemma our cases present to judges, explains why the right to liberty has nothing to do with an individual’s capacity to bear duties, and looks ahead to the legal battle over Happy the elephant’s right to liberty we expect to wage in the New York appellate courts this fall.

As Steve writes, “Simply put, our US habeas corpus litigation on behalf of nonhuman animals asks judges to refuse to allow respect for liberty, dignity, and equality to arbitrarily and irrationally end with human beings ... The tide is turning in favor of nonhuman rights in New York, as it inevitably must when the arguments that support the status quo become untenable.”

Please read and share!

At the same time as we prepare for Happy’s next hearing, we are continuing our grassroots advocacy campaign to free her to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary. Stay tuned for further updates, including new ways to help.

Thank you as always from all of us at the NhRP!

Lauren Choplin
Communications Director, the NhRP