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Dear John,
I am excited to share with you truly historic news.
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in our case on behalf of Mari and Vaigai, two wild-born, female Asian elephants held captive at the Honolulu Zoo since 1982 and 1992, respectively.
For Mari and Vaigai, this means they will have their day in the highest state court, which has the power to grant them their freedom. The judges will confront the question of whether an autonomous, extraordinarily cognitively complex nonhuman animal is entitled to the law’s most fundamental protection: the right to liberty.
This moment is historic and signals real progress. That our case was not summarily dismissed simply because it was brought on behalf of nonhuman animals is a testament to that momentum.
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will now be the third state high court to hear arguments on behalf of our clients’ right to liberty.
A few years ago, the idea that a state high court would agree to hear arguments on behalf of an elephant’s claim for liberty seemed unimaginable. Nevertheless, in 2022, New York’s highest court became the first in the nation to provide a forum for those arguments when it gave us the opportunity to argue on behalf of Happy. In 2024, the Colorado Supreme Court became the second state high court to hold such a hearing when it heard our case on behalf of five elephants held captive at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
This moment would not have been possible without you.
Historic progress is only possible because supporters like you have chosen to stand with Mari and Vaigai. Your support powers every brief we file, every expert we engage, and every argument we make on behalf of our clients.
Mari and Vaigai have spent decades in captivity, enduring profound physical and neurological suffering by being deprived of their freedom. Nothing can restore the years that have been taken from them, but this hearing will provide them with the opportunity to be heard and may ultimately lead to justice.
The institutions that confine elephants possess significant resources, power, and influence. They are committed to preserving the status quo, which equates to innumerable lives spending lifetimes behind bars. But history shows that meaningful legal progress often begins when courageous judges are willing to consider arguments that challenge long-standing assumptions about who is entitled to justice.
That is exactly what is happening now.
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will schedule oral arguments in the coming days or weeks. Once a date is set, we will begin preparing for our most important oral argument yet. We look forward to sharing updates as the case moves forward.
Thank you for standing with Mari and Vaigai and helping make moments like this possible.
Jake Davis
Senior Staff Attorney, the NhRP
Preparing for a state supreme court argument requires substantial legal resources. If you’re able, please consider donating to the NhRP to support our ongoing litigation [[link removed]] and the work ahead as we enter the next phase of this case.
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The NhRP is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation (Tax ID #: 04-3289466). It is solely through your donations that we can continue to work for the recognition and protection of fundamental rights for nonhuman animals.
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