The Colorado Supreme Court will soon decide whether animals have bodily liberty and whether a “next friend” can file a lawsuit on their behalf. A lawsuit filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) will be heard by the court on Oct. 24.
“Next friend” refers to a person or organization who represents another party in court.
“I was just there yesterday. It’s such a small exhibit on the side of the mountain,” said Courtney Fern of the NhRP.
Fern says her group has filed a lawsuit against the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on behalf of the zoo’s elephants, arguing that the animals are suffering in captivity at the Colorado Springs Zoo and should be released.
“The elephants do not want to be held captive, and they want to be free,” said Fern.
The NhRP is calling for the elephants to be sent to a sanctuary where they can live as freely as possible.
The elephants’ enclosures only allow them to move about 100 yards in any direction, the NhRP says, whereas their range in the wild can span hundreds to tens of thousands of square miles.