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Nonhuman Rights Project

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  The NhRP · [email protected]
September 4, 2025 at 9:31 PM

18,000 strong.

We want to thank you for supporting the NhRP and taking action for elephants.   Dear John,   In August, over 18,000 NhRP supporters joined together to take action for World Elephant Month—sending messages to zoo leadership, commenting on the injustice of elephant captivity on zoo social media chan…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 31, 2025 at 5:01 PM

Tonight: Elephant Month comes to a close

Help us end captive elephant breeding with a donation before midnight   Dear John, This World Elephant Month, we’ve exposed the cruelty and injustice of captive elephant breeding, including: The stark contrast between the lives of free-living elephants and those born in captivityThe myths that fue…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 30, 2025 at 3:01 PM

A legacy of hope.

And a future worth fighting for.   Dear John,  All month long, we’ve shared the difficult truths about what elephants endure in captivity—including and especially the harms caused by captive breeding programs—emphasizing the urgent need for justice. But as World Elephant Month comes to a close, t…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 28, 2025 at 5:19 PM

A life every elephant deserves

Close to the end: what it means for elephants   She’s experienced many evenings like this one–the sun sinking into the horizon, the scent of cooling earth, long grass suffused with the last light of a hot day, burnt-orange dust creating a hazy glow around the distant shapes of trees.  Nearby, the…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 26, 2025 at 8:31 PM

Quick reminder: your gift is doubled this week for elephants!

Every dollar becomes two for elephants this week.   Dear John,  On Sunday we shared that a generous supporter offered to match every donation to the Nonhuman Rights Project up to $10,000 for the final week of World Elephant Month. This means every gift to the NhRP through August 31st will be doubl…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 25, 2025 at 4:51 PM

The Oregon Zoo’s treatment of elephants

A long, dark history   A horrific beating. A mother who tried to kill her baby. Breeding agreements with a business known for exploiting and abusing elephants. The Oregon Zoo in Portland does its best to market its elephant exhibit as family-friendly, but for the elephants themselves, the experie…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM

Double your impact before Elephant Month ends

Final week to take action for elephants. Your gift will go twice as far.   Dear John, As the NhRP’s World Elephant Month comes to a close, we’re excited to announce that we now have one more powerful opportunity to make a difference!  A generous supporter has pledged an additional $10,000 match, w…
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  Jake Davis, the NhRP · [email protected]
August 22, 2025 at 5:01 PM

What is life like for a male elephant used in captive breeding?

Jake Davis on Jake the elephant’s suffering   This World Elephant Month, we’re exposing the cruelty and injustice of captive elephant breeding. Below, NhRP Senior Staff Attorney Jake Davis reflects on the suffering of an elephant who shares his first name–an adult male confined in the Denver Zoo’s…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 20, 2025 at 11:01 PM

What happened to Billy and Tina

Reflections from advocate Kiersten Cluster   “It was in 2015 that I read about elephant sanctuaries and the possibility of relief and healing for traumatized individuals forced into captivity far from home, community, and everything they know. As a result, I decided to visit the Los Angeles Zoo an…
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  Kelly, the NhRP · [email protected]
August 19, 2025 at 11:21 PM

Beyond petitions and donations.

This action guide will help you discover ways to create meaningful impact for elephants in your community. Dear John,  Last year, while I was exploring the Texas Renaissance Faire with friends, I spotted a sign across the dirt path ahead. “Elephant rides!” it read. Just ahead of me were elephants, …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM

Thando and Davu were born this time last year. Help them find freedom.

Sign our action alert to free two young elephants and their parents from a zoo and end captive elephant breeding.   Dear John, It’s been a year since two elephant calves, Thando and Davu, were born into captivity at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Instead of growing up in freedom, they’re spending their f…
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  Lauren, the NhRP · [email protected]
August 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM

We’re almost there — help us cross the finish line

There is still time to give and have your donation matched dollar for dollar to help free elephants like Billy and Tina.   Dear John, We are just short of our World Elephant Month goal, and your gift could be the one that gets us across the finish line. Every dollar you give right now will be double…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 14, 2025 at 8:30 PM

The Tulsa Zoo can do the right thing. Will they?

Billy and Tina were transferred from one zoo to another when they had the chance to go to a sanctuary. Take action today to help free them.   Dear John, As part of our World Elephant Month campaign, we’re turning the spotlight on elephants like Billy and Tina, whose stories continue to reveal the …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 13, 2025 at 7:46 PM

For World Elephant Month, your gift goes 2X as far

Celebrate World Elephant Day by supporting the fight for elephants’ right to liberty. Your gift will be doubled to help end captivity.   Dear John,  In honor of World Elephant Day and the NhRP’s World Elephant Month, all donations to the Nonhuman Rights Project will be doubled up to $10,000 throu…
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  The NhRP Team · [email protected]
August 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM

Born into a lifetime of captivity.

The AZA’s captive breeding program isn’t saving elephants. It’s exploiting them.  Dear John, Elephants in US zoos are being bred into a lifetime of suffering, and it’s time to speak out.  Whether by forced mating or invasive artificial insemination, elephants are treated like commodities under the…
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  Kelly, the NhRP · [email protected]
August 9, 2025 at 4:31 PM

Freedom is a memory for some. A dream for others.

For two elephants of the same age, the difference between freedom and captivity is everything. Dear John, He was born under an open sky, in tall grass warmed by the sun.  He remembers the scent of rain. The gentle weight of his mother’s trunk draped across her back as he slept. The steady rhythm …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 7, 2025 at 11:00 PM

Lucy: The Stolen Lives of Elephants

An interview with the director of a new documentary about elephant captivity in zoos Fern Levitt is a Canadian documentary filmmaker whose latest work focuses on elephant captivity in zoos–with a focus on the suffering of Lucy, an elephant imprisoned alone for decades in the Edmonton Valley Zoo. …
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  Christopher, the NhRP · [email protected]
August 6, 2025 at 10:49 PM

Fighting a dangerous ruling for animals in California

NhRP brief argues animal cruelty is a “significant evil” under common law necessity doctrine Dear John,   This week the Nonhuman Rights Project filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief asking California’s First District Court of Appeal to recognize that animal cruelty qualifies as a “si…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 4, 2025 at 9:31 PM

This isn’t conservation.

Let’s talk about the myth of captive breeding as “conservation” Dear John,  This World Elephant Month, zoos will, no doubt, be showcasing baby elephants in their feeds and marketing materials, promoting their captive breeding programs as “species survival.” It’s a message meant to reassure the publ…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
August 2, 2025 at 10:01 PM

No mother should give birth in shackles.

Help put a stop to the injustice of elephant captivity and captive breeding programs. She knows it’s not supposed to be this way. She’s among the largest animals on earth, but especially on days like this one—days when she’s unable to move until they let her, days when they insert things into the…
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  Lauren Choplin, the NhRP · [email protected]
August 1, 2025 at 5:01 PM

Born for freedom, bred for captivity: World Elephant Month 2025

Captive elephant breeding is unjust and cruel. Together we can end it and secure elephants’ right to liberty. Dear John,   For thousands of years, humans viewed elephants not as sentient beings but as resources to conquer, control, and commodify. In the last 50 years, human understanding of elephan…
See More from Lauren Choplin, the NhRP
  The NhRP · [email protected]
July 31, 2025 at 12:01 AM

Let us know what you want to receive this August

Choose the updates, stories, and actions you want to receive throughout August. Dear John,  This August, as part of World Elephant Month, we’re shining a light on a cruel and unjust reality: elephants are still being bred in captivity under the false promise of conservation. Our theme, “Born for f…
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  Jake Davis, the NhRP · [email protected]
July 30, 2025 at 1:31 PM

Their freedom was at stake. What Justice Jaffe did helped them secure it.

Chimpanzees Hercules and Leo and the Jaffe decision The Nonhuman Rights Project is celebrating our 30th anniversary throughout the year with special content focused on where we’ve been, who we are as an organization, and where we’re headed. Below, NhRP Senior Staff Attorney Jake Davis reflects on…
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  Lauren Chopin · [email protected]
July 26, 2025 at 5:01 PM

We value your voice! Help shape the NhRP’s work in 2025 🐘

We want to hear from you! Will you take a quick survey to share what inspires you about our mission? Your voice matters! Hi John,   As someone who cares deeply about the rights of nonhuman animals, you’re an integral part of the NhRP community. It’s your passion and support that make our work poss…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
July 14, 2025 at 10:26 PM

Today is World Chimpanzee Day. Will you speak up for them?

Seven chimpanzees remain captive in a roadside zoo in northern Michigan. Dear John,   On this day in 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall—world renowned primatologist and NhRP board member—began her trailblazing research on wild chimpanzees in Gombe. Her work shattered scientific and cultural myths, and transfor…
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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]
July 13, 2025 at 1:31 PM

The story of the P.T. Barnum belugas: 160 years ago today

This is not just about belugas. It’s about who we are as a species. Dear John,   One hundred and sixty years ago today, two belugas died in a fire in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. Visit the NhRP blog to read and share “Why We Fight for Nonhuman Rights: The Story of the P.T. Barnu…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
July 11, 2025 at 5:31 PM

He was born into captivity.

For Ongard, and others like him, we must demand justice. Dear John,   In a world where intelligent, socially complex, and autonomous beings like elephants are still held captive under the guise of conservation—despite the overwhelming scientific evidence of the physical and psychological harm it ca…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
July 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM

This 4th of July, let’s talk about freedom.

Freedom isn’t just a human right. Dear John, As the US celebrates another Independence Day, we’re reminded of the value of liberty—and of those who are still unjustly denied it.  Across the globe, autonomous and self-aware nonhuman animals like elephants, great apes, whales, and dolphins remain con…
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  Courtney Fern, the NhRP · [email protected]
July 2, 2025 at 5:46 PM

Sign our petition on behalf of seven chimpanzees held in a roadside zoo

It’s wrong to make chimpanzees live this way. Here is one way you can help. As the Nonhuman Rights Project prepares for a court hearing expected in the DeYoung prisoners’ case this year, you can help by signing and sharing their petition.  ADD YOUR NAME  Rocking. Screaming. Banging on the walls. Co…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
June 26, 2025 at 11:28 PM

A setback for Billy and Tina—but the fight isn’t over

The court recognized they’re autonomous. It stopped short of giving them freedom. Dear John,  On June 18th we learned that the Los Angeles Superior Court denied our habeas corpus petition on behalf of elephants Billy and Tina—refusing to grant them the full and fair hearing they deserve on whether …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
June 25, 2025 at 9:24 PM

“History doesn’t make itself—we make it one year at a time.” – NhRP Executive Director

Reflecting on a year of impact Dear John,  Our 2024 Digital Annual Report is here—and we’re proud to share all we accomplished last year with your support! From advancing nonhuman rights in court, to fostering change beyond the courtroom, to exploring new opportunities for change, it’s a powerful r…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
June 19, 2025 at 3:16 PM

Wear your support for the DeYoung chimpanzees ❤️

Check out our new Free the DeYoung Prisoners merchandise! Dear John,  What’s happening to seven chimpanzees held captive at the DeYoung Family Zoo isn’t just a moral failure. It’s a legal one.   Seven self-aware, autonomous beings remain trapped at a roadside zoo in Northern Michigan—kept in a gro…
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  Lauren Choplin, the NhRP · [email protected]
June 18, 2025 at 12:03 AM

Dogs legally recognized as family members in New York case

A legal win for animals Good news! Today, a judge affirmed that dogs can be recognized as immediate family members under New York law. The Nonhuman Rights Project submitted two briefs in support of the plaintiffs in this case, who’ll now have the opportunity to recover emotional distress damages …
See More from Lauren Choplin, the NhRP
  The NhRP · [email protected]
June 14, 2025 at 1:46 PM

Happy the elephant: two acts of judicial courage

Three years ago today, Judge Rowan Wilson and Judge Jenny Rivera refuted the idea that only humans can have rights. Dear John,   Three years ago today, two judges on New York’s highest court issued historic dissenting opinions in support of elephants’ right to liberty. The focus of their dissents …
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  Free to Be Elephants · [email protected]
June 12, 2025 at 9:27 PM

Rozie has endured what no elephant should ever have to.

Imagine losing every child you’ve ever had—because of where you’re forced to live. Dear John, Imagine losing every child you’ve ever had—because of where you’re forced to live. That’s Rozie’s reality.  Rozie is a 32-year-old Asian elephant who has spent her entire life confined to a five-acre exhi…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
June 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM

Where our Michigan chimpanzee rights case stands

We are still waiting to hear from the courts about a date for oral arguments… Dear John, We’d like to share an update with you about where things stand in our fight to free seven chimpanzees imprisoned at a roadside zoo in Michigan—and what you can do today to support their case while we wait for …
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  Courtney Fern, the NhRP · [email protected]
June 5, 2025 at 7:49 PM

Urgent action needed for Billy and Tina

Contact the L.A. City Council President Dear John,  Today I’m writing with an urgent action you can take to help elephants Billy and Tina find sanctuary.  As we make clear in our ongoing litigation on Billy and Tina’s behalf, they remain in the constructive custody of the City of Los Angeles and t…
See More from Courtney Fern, the NhRP
  The NhRP · [email protected]
May 30, 2025 at 7:11 PM

Billy and Tina’s stories are what injustice looks like.

Sanctuary was within reach. Instead, they were sent to another zoo. Dear John xxxxxx,  Billy was just a baby when his life was stolen. Born in the wilds of Malaysia in 1985, he should have grown up in a close-knit elephant family—learning, exploring, and roaming freely. Instead, he was torn from h…
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  Jenny via the NhRP · [email protected]
May 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM

I provide sanctuary to chimpanzees in need. Here's why I support the NhRP.

A guest email from one of our first volunteers Jenny Desmond was one of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s first volunteers. She went on to co-found Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection in West Africa and helped provide care to 66 chimpanzees used in medical research and then abandoned by the New Y…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
May 27, 2025 at 7:41 PM

“The hearing was about to begin, and I knew I was about to witness history.”

Looking back on an extraordinary moment of legal progress for nonhuman animals Dear John xxxxxx,   Ten years ago today, New York Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe became the first judge in history to hold a habeas corpus hearing to determine the lawfulness of a nonhuman animal’s imprisonment. Dur…
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  Courtney Fern, the NhRP · [email protected]
May 23, 2025 at 6:03 PM

A day we stood together for animal rights—and how it moved me in ways I didn’t expect

A message of gratitude to the NhRP community. You show up for our clients even when it’s difficult. It was a freezing February day in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2019. The NhRP’s Executive Director, Communications Director, and I had gathered outside an entertainment venue where we were holding a…
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  Christopher, the NhRP · [email protected]
May 22, 2025 at 2:29 AM

Update: Lawsuit on behalf of Billy and Tina

Our legal case for Billy and Tina will continue with full force. Court Case Update: Billy and TinaDear John,  Yesterday, I shared with you the story of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s efforts to file a habeas corpus petition on behalf of elephants Billy and Tina—efforts that revealed how the law sy…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
May 20, 2025 at 9:16 PM

An urgent message from our Executive Director

Dear John,   Since this past Friday, the Nonhuman Rights Project has been attempting to file a habeas corpus petition seeking the right to liberty for Billy and Tina, two elephants held in captivity in the Los Angeles Zoo. As many NhRP supporters know, Billy and Tina should be released to an elep…
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  Monica Miller, the NhRP · [email protected]
May 18, 2025 at 4:18 PM

Correction: The day we stood for Happy

Three years ago today, I stood before the New York Court of Appeals for Happy's hearing. Correction: The first sentence was missing from the email we sent a few moments ago. This is the complete version with the full context provided. Our apologies!  Three years ago today, the New York Court of A…
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  Monica Miller, the NhRP · [email protected]
May 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM

The day we stood for Happy

Three years ago today, I stood before the New York Court of Appeals for Happy's hearing. Below are Monica Miller's reflections on this historic hearing. Monica is the NhRP attorney who argued on Happy's behalf before the panel of seven judges. Our fight for Happy's freedom is ongoing.   Dear John…
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  Free to Be Elephants · [email protected]
May 14, 2025 at 8:04 PM

Help free Tasha after 45 years in captivity

She’s waited decades for justice. She deserves freedom, not another winter on concrete. Please sign this petition if you want the Pittsburgh Zoo to free five African elephants from captivity and release them to an accredited elephant sanctuary!   Dear John,  Natasha—also known as Tasha—has spent …
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  Kelly Holt, the NhRP · [email protected]
May 12, 2025 at 5:17 PM

What happened to Happy?

More than 50 years ago, she was taken. Her herd never saw her again. Dear John,   As Happy’s advocates, we often speak about the immeasurable trauma and stress she’s endured—a young calf, stolen from the wild, separated from her family, and forced into captivity. But there’s more to this story. T…
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  Christopher Berry, the NhRP · [email protected]
May 8, 2025 at 11:01 PM

Honoring judicial courage

How a judge made legal history for animals seven years ago today Dear John,   Seven years ago today, something extraordinary happened—a type of legal victory that came not as an outright win, but in the form of a concurring opinion. Judge Eugene Fahey of the New York Court of Appeals became the fi…
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  Margaret via the NhRP · [email protected]
May 6, 2025 at 8:46 PM

Why I became a monthly donor to the NhRP

An NhRP supporter shares her perspective A guest email from an NhRP supporter Dear John,  My name is Margaret Hope. I’m an NhRP supporter who lives in Colorado.  This year I decided to become a monthly donor to the NhRP because I keep seeing injustice after injustice inflicted upon nonhuman animal…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
May 4, 2025 at 8:01 PM

Checking in on your communication preferences

Let us know what kind of emails you want to receive this month!  Dear John,  As we celebrate the Nonhuman Rights Project’s 30th anniversary this month and hold our spring fundraising campaign, we want to ensure that the NhRP emails you receive are tailored to what matters most to you.   Along with …
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