Christopher Berry, the NhRP · [email protected]

September 18, 2024 at 7:36 PM

Welcoming two new Board Members to our team!

Dear John, As a valued member of the NhRP community, we’re excited to share some incredible news with you about the growth of our organization. We are thrilled to welcome two visionary leaders to our Board of Directors—Raffael Fasel and Justin Marceau! First, meet Raffael Fasel, an Assistant Profe…

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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]

September 12, 2024 at 11:12 PM

Happy update: New York Times story

Plus new ways to help Dear John,  Today one of the largest and most well-respected media outlets in the world, the New York Times, published a story about Happy the elephant’s disappearance from view at the Bronx Zoo. The zoo refused to let the New York Times reporter observe Happy in her barn or be…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

August 30, 2024 at 5:04 PM

Thank you!

Link to announcement enclosed Thank you so much to everyone who took action in support of the Nonhuman Rights Project during World Elephant Week from August 12th through August 19th! As always, we were blown away by your dedication and generosity.   Because of you, over 5,800 messages were sent to …

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  Christopher via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 19, 2024 at 5:45 PM

Huge news in Colorado elephant rights case

On October 24th, Colorado’s highest court will hear arguments demanding elephants’ right to liberty.   On October 24th, Colorado’s highest court will hear arguments demanding elephants’ right to liberty.  This hearing–the first of its kind in Colorado and the region–will be a huge day not just for o…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

August 19, 2024 at 3:01 AM

Time is ticking: show your support for elephants

There are only 24 hours left to make a donation in honor of World Elephant Week. Thanks to your generosity, we've INCREASED our goal to $25,000!  John,  We wanted to send you one last reminder that there are just 24 hours left to make a donation in honor of World Elephant Week. Thanks to your gene…

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  Monica Miller via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 18, 2024 at 3:31 PM

One thing I love about elephants

  Did you know free-living elephants often have long discussions about where to go and what to do? They even disagree and debate!  Having been an attorney with the NhRP since 2012, I personally am fascinated with all things elephant, and I love the fact that elephants come together as individuals t…

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  Lauren Choplin, the NhRP · [email protected]

August 17, 2024 at 8:30 PM

Elephant captivity ban update

  Have you ever heard zoos call the elephants they’re holding in captivity “ambassadors” for their species? They say this as if the elephants decided to live abroad, applied to join the Foreign Service, and worked their way up to these coveted positions–as if they have a choice. In reality, elephan…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

August 16, 2024 at 11:46 PM

Expert on mammalian brain reflects on Happy's plight

And how you can help #FreeHappy  Dear John,   As part of last year’s World Elephant Week campaign, Dr. Bob Jacobs–a neuroscientist who’s conducted research on the mammalian brain since 1984 and co-authored a 2021 study on the traumatic impact of impoverished, captive environments on animals’ brains–…

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  Leslie Rule via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 16, 2024 at 3:31 PM

The first elephant rights legislation in the US

Why the NhRP's mission is important to me   Dear John,   My name is Leslie Rule. I’m a member of the Ojai City Council in Ojai, California–a small city known for lovely scenery, for great hiking, and, as of September 2023, for being the first city in the United States to have passed legislation reco…

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  Courtney Fern via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 15, 2024 at 11:30 PM

🚨 New Happy and Patty action alert 🚨

  As local media in New York have been steadily reporting, our elephant client Happy has disappeared from view at the Bronx Zoo. It’s now been over a month since she’s been seen outside, and the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, continue to claim that nothing’s…

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  Elizabeth Stein via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 15, 2024 at 3:31 PM

Targa's story

  Every captive elephant has a story. For almost every elephant held captive in US zoos, their story remains untold.  An elephant named Targa is one of many elephants profiled on freetobelephants.com—a first-of-its-kind online portal that’s part of a national NhRP campaign to educate millions of pe…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

August 14, 2024 at 7:01 PM

Jambo's story

 They call me Jambo. My real name has disappeared from my memory. Before I was called Jambo, I lived happily with my family and freely roamed the forests and grasslands with my cousins. One day, I was violently ripped away from my home. For 24 years, I was forced to perform in a traveling circus, w…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

August 13, 2024 at 9:36 PM

🚨2X MATCH alert!🚨

  Dear John,   During this World Elephant Week, we need your help to grow our movement to end elephant imprisonment—and we’ve got an exciting announcement to share today in support of that very mission!  Every single day, more and more people join the fight for elephant rights. Thanks to an outpour…

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  Dr. Mickey Pardo via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 13, 2024 at 2:01 PM

I study elephants. Here's why I support their right to liberty.

  Hi John! In honor of World Elephant Week, we're sharing stories from inside the legal struggle for elephants' right to liberty. Today, Dr. Mickey Pardo shares why he's in this fight with you.   My name is Mickey Pardo. I am a behavioral ecologist and conservation biologist who has studied animal …

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  Lauren C. via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 12, 2024 at 6:18 PM

World Elephant Week is here!

 Dear John,  It’s World Elephant Day—but we at the NhRP don’t want to confine our respect and admiration for these extraordinary beings to to a single day!  Last year, you helped make our first-ever World Elephant Week campaign a huge success! We remain incredibly grateful for your generosity and e…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

August 10, 2024 at 4:01 PM

World Elephant Week is just around the corner!

Save the date   Dear John,  Save the date: World Elephant Week 2024 starts on August 12th and ends on August 19th! World Elephant Day is August 12th. But here at the NhRP, every day is World Elephant Day. That’s why we’re spending a whole week honoring our clients and the thousands of other elephant…

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  Christopher via the NhRP · [email protected]

August 9, 2024 at 1:52 AM

An update and my thoughts on what's going on with Happy

Hi John, First, thank you so much to everyone who’s joined us in expressing concern and indignation for Happy the last several weeks. With your help, the story about her disappearance from view and the lack of transparency on the part of the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society is gainin…

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  Elizabeth Stein, the NhRP · [email protected]

August 2, 2024 at 7:19 PM

A message from the NhRP's Litigation Director

Happy update and how you can help Dear John,  Last week, my colleague Courtney shared the news that we believe something seriously wrong is happening in the Bronx Zoo elephant exhibit–more wrong than usual, that is. No one knows yet exactly what’s going on, but we do know that neither we, nor any of…

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  Peggy Cusack, the NhRP · [email protected]

July 29, 2024 at 6:48 PM

Announcing the NhRP's new Executive Director

Dear John,   On behalf of the Nonhuman Rights Project, I’m thrilled to share that after a rigorous search that began more than a year ago, the NhRP Board has officially selected Christopher Berry as our new Executive Director.  Christopher joined the NhRP in January as our Chief Programs Officer. He…

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  Courtney Fern, the NhRP · [email protected]

July 25, 2024 at 10:24 PM

Happy the elephant: URGENT UPDATE

Join us in raising the alarm What we've learned and how you can help Dear John,    Based on our monitoring of the Bronx Zoo elephant exhibit, it’s our understanding that Happy, an elephant held alone in captivity at the Bronx Zoo by the Wildlife Conservation Society, hasn’t been outside at all in a…

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  Lauren Choplin, the NhRP · [email protected]

July 23, 2024 at 2:57 PM

Do you know the story of Tyke the elephant?

The latest in our Hawaii elephant rights caseDear John,   You may know the horrific story of Tyke the elephant. Stolen from her herd and natural habitat in Mozambique when she was young, she was imported to the US in the 1970s to be exploited in circuses under threat of a bullhook. In 1994, after de…

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  Jake Davis, the NhRP · [email protected]

July 18, 2024 at 4:34 PM

Update on our litigation to free five elephants in Colorado

Brief filed in Colorado elephant rights case Dear John,   Our lawsuit on behalf of five elephants imprisoned in the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado has reached an important juncture: all the briefs are in, and we’re now waiting for the state’s highest court to set a date for oral…

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  Courtney Fern, the NhRP · [email protected]

July 16, 2024 at 12:45 AM

Take action to help free Mari and Vaigai

Honolulu Zoo action alert Speak out for Mari and Vaigai's freedom Dear John,   Our elephant clients Mari and Vaigai have spent decades trapped in a barren, small exhibit at the Honolulu Zoo in Hawaii. They spent the first 20 years in a space that was less than .2 acres. In 2011, the exhibit was expa…

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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]

July 10, 2024 at 11:30 PM

Book about nonhuman rights in the running for prestigious award

Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood has been nominated for the comic book equivalent of an Oscar! The book was co-authored by the Nonhuman Rights Project’s late founder, Steven M. Wise. It’s the first graphic nonfiction work about animal rights, and we’re proud to be part of it. Lear…

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  Free to Be Elephants · [email protected]

June 27, 2024 at 9:01 PM

Billy and Tina’s Stories

Billy and Tina are suffering. Billy and Tina are wild-born Asian elephants who have spent almost the entirety of their lives held captive in the United States–a world away from the elephant families they were taken from decades ago. Currently confined at the Los Angeles Zoo, Billy and Tina are suffe…

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  Jake Davis, the NhRP · [email protected]

June 24, 2024 at 4:46 PM

The experts supporting our Colorado elephant rights case

Update on our litigation to free five elephants in Colorado Expert support for Colorado elephant rights caseDear John,  In May, I wrote to let you know we’d filed a brief in the Colorado Supreme Court, urging it to reverse a District Court ruling that denied our elephant clients Jambo, Kimba, LouLo…

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  Peggy Cusack, the NhRP · [email protected]

June 17, 2024 at 4:53 PM

Our new staff member!

Meet JenniferDear John,   Please join me in welcoming our new Development Director, Jennifer Brunk! In this role, Jennifer is leading our fundraising efforts to help the NhRP steadily grow as an organization, which allows us to further extend our reach and deepen our impact.    A seasoned nonprofit …

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  Lauren Choplin, the NhRP · [email protected]

June 13, 2024 at 11:00 PM

One amazing thing about elephants (and NhRP supporters)

Dear John,  As you know, there are a lot of amazing things about elephants, but there's one that resonates deeply with me: how they work together to overcome obstacles and solve the problems they collectively face.  Having had the privilege of interacting with many NhRP supporters over the years, I …

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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]

June 12, 2024 at 5:31 PM

Our Annual Report

The progress we made together We’re excited to share our 2023 Annual Report with you! As you’ll see, we had major accomplishments across every program area this past year, including a huge legislative first and more active cases and clients than we’ve ever had before. Please click here to read abou…

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  Free To Be Elephants · [email protected]

June 7, 2024 at 4:45 PM

Kirkja's story

Born a rightless "thing" Kirkja is a female African elephant who was born on February 17, 2024 at the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio to two wild-born elephants who never met. Initially thought to be a male and named Kirk, the zoo discovered three months after her birth that she was a female and …

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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]

May 28, 2024 at 6:46 PM

Harambe's story

On this day in 2016, a western lowland gorilla was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo after a little boy fell into the gorilla enclosure. The outrage that swiftly followed was extensive. People around the world called on the child’s mother to be charged with negligence and on the zoo to be punis…

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  Jake Davis, the NhRP · [email protected]

May 23, 2024 at 7:28 PM

Update on our litigation to free five elephants in Colorado

Brief filed in Colorado elephant rights caseDear John,  The Nonhuman Rights Project has filed an opening brief in Colorado’s highest court, urging it to reverse a District Court ruling that denied elephants Jambo, Kimba, LouLou, Lucky, and Missy a hearing on the lawfulness of their imprisonment in …

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  Monica Miller, the NhRP · [email protected]

May 17, 2024 at 7:28 PM

Update on our litigation to free seven chimpanzees in Michigan

Brief filed in Michigan chimpanzee rights case Dear John,  As the lead attorney on our case to free seven chimpanzees from the DeYoung Family Zoo in Michigan, I’m pleased to share the brief we recently filed on their behalf in the Michigan Court of Appeals.   Background and details  The DeYoung Fami…

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  Free To Be Elephants · [email protected]

May 10, 2024 at 11:30 PM

He was free for only three of his 46 years.

Tonka's story Can you imagine spending your whole life since childhood in one barren, tiny place, with nothing that brings you joy or fulfillment, almost no interaction with anyone who understands you, no freedom, and no opportunity to heal from the traumas that brought you there in the first place?…

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  Peggy via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 29, 2024 at 12:00 AM

A few hours remaining

One last chance to double your donation and help us meet our spring fundraising goal Dear John,   The clock is ticking down on your chance to help us reach our $25,000 spring fundraising goal! Thanks to a generous donor, any donation you make before the end of the day today will be matched dollar fo…

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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]

April 28, 2024 at 3:55 PM

What we know

There’s so much we don’t know about how the world will look ten years from now, 50 years from now, 100 years from now. But here’s what we know without question. The number of people willing to acknowledge animal suffering is going to steadily grow. Over time–if we are persistent–the majority of pe…

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  Lauren via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 28, 2024 at 3:59 AM

Only 24 hours left to make an Earth Week donation!

One day left to have your donation matched Thank you so much for following our special email series this week, exploring what a hopeful and just future for nonhuman animals could look like. In just 24 hours, this series will be over, but we still need your support to meet our spring fundraising goa…

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  Jake via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 27, 2024 at 4:51 PM

2054, Montana

A possible future For Earth Week 2024, we’re sharing glimpses of our vision for a just future for nonhuman animals. In this email, NhRP attorney Jake Davis imagines how his corner of the world might look 30 years from now. Note: What you’ll read below, with the exception of Tommy’s lawsuit, hasn’t…

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  Courtney via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 26, 2024 at 8:21 PM

Where the NhRP's optimism comes from

Our founder Steven M. Wise thought, spoke, read, and wrote a lot about history, about past struggles against injustice and how they continue into the present. He was also laser-focused on what the present moment required from the NhRP: for example, the latest obstacle we needed to take on, or the …

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  Monica via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 25, 2024 at 11:00 PM

Our opponents are afraid of what the future holds. We aren’t.

What I’ve seen as an attorney with the NhRP Ever since we filed our first lawsuit, our opponents have tried to create fear around what a future with nonhuman rights would look like–for our clients, for humans, and any other angle they think will work. For example, the Bronx Zoo and its allies have t…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

April 24, 2024 at 5:30 PM

Lolita’s mother’s voice

Ocean Sun's story I’ll never forget the day they took her from me, from us. Like all my children, she was meant to be with me for the duration of my life. Instead, she was with me for only a few years.  In the beginning we lived freely together. She swam with me and all the members of our pod, spen…

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  Christopher via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 23, 2024 at 10:00 PM

Exciting news: Your donation can have double the impact this week! 💪

A matching gift for just this week Dear John,   Thank you so much for your enthusiastic responses so far to our Earth Week email series. Our team is always amazed and inspired to see the hope and energy you bring to this fight. Today, I’m thrilled to share some incredible news that can increase the …

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

April 23, 2024 at 4:00 PM

A glimpse into a future with nonhuman rights

What Happy’s story can make possible The year 2074, the Bronx The scent of spring flowers drifts through the air. The sun warms my face, making me drowsy as I walk the path that leads to the Bronx Gardens, formerly the Bronx Zoo. I’m pulled back to wakefulness by a childhood memory of what was once…

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  Lauren via the NhRP · [email protected]

April 22, 2024 at 2:46 PM

Earth is for all of us

Looking ahead with hopeDear John,  Happy Earth Day! Today, as we celebrate the beauty of our planet and join people around the world in reaffirming the need to protect it, we’d like to thank you for joining the Nonhuman Rights Project in recognizing that a thriving future includes not just us humans…

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  Free To Be Elephants · [email protected]

April 3, 2024 at 3:01 PM

The zoo calls it "his travels."

Moved from zoo to zoo for his whole adult life. Subjected to invasive procedures as part of zoo breeding programs. Family members trucked to zoos across the US. Zoos can call it what they want, but the truth is, no elephant held captive in a zoo goes anywhere but where the zoo chooses.  Read and sh…

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  Courtney, the NhRP · [email protected]

March 27, 2024 at 10:01 PM

🚨Action alert: Help end elephant captivity in NYC!

Take action now to help us end elephant captivity in New York City and free Happy and Patty to sanctuary!John, we have the chance to end elephant captivity in New York City and free Happy and Patty to a sanctuary. Last week marked 47 years since Happy first arrived at the Bronx Zoo. For decades, Hap…

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  Christopher via the NhRP · [email protected]

March 19, 2024 at 10:43 PM

What we're doing to meet this moment

Reflections and updates on where we are in the fight Hello John! I hope this email finds you well. This is Christopher, the NhRP’s Chief Programs Officer. I’m writing today to reflect on the present moment and provide updates on some of the incredible work happening at the Nonhuman Rights Project ri…

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  Lauren via the NhRP · [email protected]

February 27, 2024 at 7:05 PM

A champion of animal rights

Thank you. As we continue to grieve the passing of our founder Steven Wise, we wanted to thank our supporters for the huge outpouring of support over the last week and a half. We've read and deeply appreciated every message, each one a moving reaffirmation of what made Steve such an extraordinary th…

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  The NhRP · [email protected]

February 16, 2024 at 6:05 PM

A tremendous loss

Steven M. Wise(1950-2024) We’re heartbroken to share the news that Steven M. Wise–our founder, president, and friend–passed away yesterday.   No words will be sufficient to describe the immense sadness and sense of loss we feel with his passing. Steve inspired us every day with his relentlessly chee…

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  Peggy via the NhRP · [email protected]

February 12, 2024 at 12:05 AM

Introducing our newest team member

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – NhRP Board Member Dr. Jane Goodall Before I joined the Nonhuman Rights Project, I was a nonprofit consultant. Every day I was inspired by the dedication and persistence of people who were fighting ag…

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