John,

On this day in 1999, a gorilla named Harambe was born into a lifetime of imprisonment in a zoo in Texas. Seventeen years and one day later, on May 28th, 2016, he was shot and killed in a Cincinnati Zoo exhibit.

Please join us today in sharing the first story in our new blog series. Researched and written by NhRP supporter Emily Gambone, “Why We Fight for Nonhuman Rights: Harambe’s Story” shows what it means, over the course of a nonhuman animal’s life, to be rightless, and illuminates the possibility of a future in which nonhuman rights are protected alongside human rights.

As Emily writes, the choice—to begin to recognize and protect nonhuman rights or to keep all nonhuman animals imprisoned in an archaic, unjust legal status quo that serves neither them nor us—is ours to make.

Please share widely using this blog post link or our posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

To help the NhRP continue to shine a light on the plight of imprisoned and exploited nonhuman animals, please donate here if you can.

Thank you!

Lauren Choplin
Communications Director, the NhRP