Dear John,

Our elephant client Happy spent 2020 exactly as she has the last four decades: as a prisoner. 

But beyond the confines of the Bronx Zoo’s tiny elephant exhibit, a great deal happened in the battle to free Happy to a sanctuary—hard-won progress that could change her life and the lives of other elephants who, like her, are suffering because they lack the right to liberty.

In February of this year, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Alison Y. Tuitt issued a significant and powerful decision in Happy’s elephant rights case, stating that while she felt bound by prior appellate court decisions, she agrees with the NhRP that Happy is not merely a legal “thing.” She went on to say that Happy “is an intelligent, autonomous being who should be treated with respect and dignity, and who may be entitled to liberty.”

In July, we held a Twitter day of action where supporters like you tweeted to help raise awareness about Happy’s plight and together send a loud message to the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages it, that Happy needs and deserves sanctuary. In the same month, scholars in philosophy and law, including world-renowned Harvard Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe, submitted briefs in support of the NhRP’s appeal and Happy’s right to liberty.

Throughout the year, we called on you, our supporters, to take further actions to help free Happy such as completing action alerts, signing petitions, and submitting your artwork, photos, and videos. Last month, we held our #FreeHappy virtual event to share Happy’s story and inspire more people to join our fight. The next day, the NhRP argued for Happy’s right to liberty before a five-judge panel of the First Judicial Department.

Yesterday, they ruled in the case, denying habeas corpus relief to Happy and choosing not to correct the serious errors of law the Court made in its 2017 decision denying habeas corpus relief to chimpanzees simply because they aren’t human. But this is no setback for the NhRP. We move onward and upward, and in the coming weeks we will ask New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, to hear our arguments. 

Your year-end gift of $35, $50 or $100 today can help us strengthen even further the fight for her freedom in 2021.

With your support, we can fully fund her court case, expand her grassroots advocacy campaign, and further educate elected officials, members of the media, and the public at large about Happy’s plight and why elephants need and deserve the right to liberty.

On behalf of the NhRP, I sincerely thank you for your support this year. It’s because of supporters like you who understand the importance of nonhuman rights that we are able to press on even in the most challenging of times. Please give your year-end gift today.

Thank you,

Mickey Suzuki
Development Director, the NhRP