JUAN MABROMATA—AFP /GETTY IMAGES

OTHER COURT CASES

ANIMAL RIGHTS

It’s a sunny afternoon at the Bronx Zoo, in New York
City. A monorail train approaches the elephant exhibit.
A child screeches in delight as a female Asian elephant
named Happy comes into view. Happy f laps her ears
and wraps her trunk around the fence of her enclosure.
The Bronx Zoo is one of about 60 zoos in the United
States where you can see an elephant. With the number
of Asian elephants dwindling every year—about 50,
are left in the wild—a zoo might be the only chance any
of us will ever get to see one.
But the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), an animal-
rights group, says Happy is lonely. A fence separates her
from Patty, another elephant. Contact through a fence
isn’t enough, the NhRP says. Steven Wise is the group’s
president. “We understand what [Happy’s] life means to
her,” he says, “which is almost nothing at all.”
So the NhRP is taking the Bronx Zoo to court.
The group says Happy should be moved to a sanctuary
where she can have space to roam and interact with
other elephants.

ON THE CASE
The NhRP’s case against the Bronx Zoo is the first of
its kind in the U.S. The group is relying on a legal order
meant for humans. It says a person who has been
unlawfully imprisoned must be released. Next year, the
NhRP will argue in court that Happy should have that
same right.
There’s research to support that argument. In 2005,
Happy became the first Asian elephant to pass a mirror
test. This test is given to see if an animal can recognize

itself, the way a person does.

Experts say elephants are intelligent and thrive

when they form social bonds. Joyce Poole studies them

in Africa. Keeping one in a city is “a recipe for disaster,”

she says. “As you can imagine, if you were locked behind

bars, there’s not much to do.”

THE ZOO’S VIEW

The Bronx Zoo says Happy is well cared-for, and was

separated from Patty because the two didn’t get along.

Some people claim removing animals like Happy from

zoos would be a mistake. Many kids would never grow

up with a connection to these animals.

Jodi Gibson is president of the Zoological Society of

Milwaukee. She first saw elephants at a zoo when she

was 6. “For me, as a child, it opened a door,” she says.

“Our greatest hope is for people to want to protect and

preserve these beautiful animals.”According to the

Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), some 55 mil-

lion schoolchildren visited zoos each year before the

coronavirus pandemic.

Even so, attitudes about zoos are changing. In 2015,

SeaWorld considered ending its killer-whale shows.

The park had been criticized for keeping the creatures

in captivity.

But zoos reach more people than any other group

involved with conservation. They’re more important

than ever, AZA president Dan Ashe says. He feels that if

there’s a time when children can no longer visit zoos and

learn to care about elephants, “It’ll come at a great cost.”

—By Melissa Chan for TIME, adapted by TFK editors

In 2014, the Supreme Court of

India made waves when it said

animal rights are protected under

the nation’s constitution. As it

banned a bullfighting festival, the

court wrote that animals have the

right to “live in a healthy and clean

atmosphere.” That same year, a

court in Argentina ruled that an

orangutan named Sandra (pictured)

could be freed from a zoo. The rul-

ing was later reversed. But Sandra

was still moved to a sanctuary in

Florida.

Hear the story read aloud in English and in Spanish at timeforkids.com.^5

An animal-rights group says elephants are intelligent

social beings and should not be held in captivity.