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Nonhuman Rights Project

The Nonhuman Rights Project is the only civil rights organization in the US working to achieve legal rights for members of species other than our own.

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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 28, 2024 at 4:36 PM

Thank you for standing with us today and every day

John,   As we reflect on the year, we’re deeply grateful for your generosity with your time and your donations, your care for our clients and all animals who are suffering, and your commitment to our cause. Your support is what makes our work for nonhuman animals possible. In the simplest terms, w…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 27, 2024 at 11:46 PM

Share your story this Giving Tuesday

We know many of you have a personal connection to our mission–an experience or story that touched you. Perhaps it was an elephant you saw with a chain around her foot, or a chimpanzee locked in a cage along the road. Perhaps you were moved by these words written by New York Court of Appeals Judge…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 27, 2024 at 5:17 PM

We are one week away!

Hi John,  We’re just one week away from the biggest online giving day of the year: Giving Tuesday. A very generous donor has agreed to match every donation made in honor of Giving Tuesday, up to $25,000! This means any gift you make to the Nonhuman Rights Project leading up to Giving Tuesday (Dece…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 26, 2024 at 11:32 PM

Stay tuned or take a break: let us know your preference!

Dear John, As we approach the end of the year, we want to make sure our messages are just right for you.  We're excited to share updates on what we’ve accomplished together for nonhuman animals this past year, along with our plans to expand their legal protections in the future. However, we also k…
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  Lauren via the NhRP · [email protected]
November 22, 2024 at 12:31 AM

Webinar recording and Happy update

Dear John,  Thank you so much to everyone who joined us last week for our webinar on our historic Colorado Supreme Court hearing on behalf of elephants Jambo, LouLou, Lucky, Missy, and Kimba. In an era when attention is scattered and there’s no shortage of urgent causes to support, we want to reite…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 19, 2024 at 11:26 PM

Together we can secure a just future for animals

Imagine a day in the life of our client Jambo. For years, Jambo’s world has been limited to concrete walls, wire fences, and strangers watching her every move. In the wild, elephants roam for miles–socializing, playing, and nurturing bonds that last a lifetime. Yet Jambo—brilliant, sensitive, and…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 15, 2024 at 11:11 PM

A New Way to Make a Difference This Giving Season

With a mission unlike that of any other organization, the Nonhuman Rights Project is working to secure fundamental legal rights for nonhuman animals. We’re challenging the outdated and unjust notion that animals are rightless things under the law, and demanding that they must instead be recognized…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 12, 2024 at 8:36 PM

Thando's story

In September, we shared the news that the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in California gave the name Davu, meaning “the dawn of a new age,” to one of the elephants born there this year. The second elephant has been named Thando, which means “love.”  Thando’s father Mabu and his mother Nolwazi were both taken …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
November 8, 2024 at 10:31 PM

Please join us for a special Zoom webinar!

Hi John! First, we wanted to thank everyone who took the time to watch the online recording of our Colorado elephant rights hearing and share your thoughts and enthusiasm with us. The mere fact that this hearing took place is a win for nonhuman animals and the nonhuman animal rights movement, and …
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  Lauren via the NhRP · [email protected]
November 1, 2024 at 3:48 PM

Watch the recording of our elephant rights hearing in Colorado's highest court

Link enclosed Dear John,   On October 24th, the Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments by the Nonhuman Rights Project centered on whether the elephants confined at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo have the right to liberty and must be released to an elephant sanctuary. Widely covered by local and national …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
October 24, 2024 at 11:30 PM

We did it!

We made history today, thanks to your support. Dear John,  This morning before the Colorado Supreme Court, we presented our arguments on behalf of the five elephants held captive at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.  We could not be more proud of our team, especially the attorney on thi…
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
October 23, 2024 at 9:48 PM

Tomorrow is the big day!

Dear John,  Tomorrow, October 24, 2024, marks a historic moment. The Colorado Supreme Court will hear our case—the first of its kind in the state—arguing for the right to liberty for five elephants held captive at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  As we’ll argue, Jambo, Kimba, LouLou, Lucky, and Missy a…
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  The Nonhuman Rights Project · [email protected]
October 21, 2024 at 11:01 PM

A preview of our arguments in Colorado

What we're arguing this Thursday in Colorado Can elephants be denied recognition of their liberty simply because they aren’t members of the human species? Or is recognition of their right to liberty supported by considerations of science, evolving societal norms, and the fundamental principles of …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
October 17, 2024 at 9:28 PM

It’s one week away!

We’re making history for nonhuman animals in Colorado next week. Dear John, We are just SEVEN days away from making history in Colorado!  In one week, on October 24, the Colorado Supreme Court will hear a groundbreaking case for elephants’ right to liberty.   For Jambo, Kimba, LouLou, Lucky, and M…
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  Courtney Fern, the NhRP · [email protected]
October 7, 2024 at 11:46 PM

Rally recap! Elephant rights in Colorado

17 days until historic hearing in Colorado's highest court Thank you so much to all of the amazing Colorado advocates who joined us on Sunday in Denver for our rally to #FreeTheCMZElephants! Together, we sent a loud and clear message ahead of our first-of-its-kind hearing in the Colorado Supreme Co…
See More from Courtney Fern, the NhRP
  The NhRP · [email protected]
October 4, 2024 at 8:55 PM

The truth is in her story

Jambo’s story is one of resilience, heartbreak, and, above all, a testament to the need for elephants’ right to liberty. Dear John,  Jambo’s story is one of resilience, heartbreak, and, above all, a testament to the need for elephants’ right to liberty. Once known as Dumbo, Jambo’s life should have…
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  Free To Be Elephants · [email protected]
October 1, 2024 at 12:01 AM

Davu's story

Davu: the Somali word for “the starting of a new age.” That’s what the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in California just named one of the two elephant calves recently born there.   This elephant has been forced into a lifetime of captivity, including likely being separated from his mother and transferred to a…
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  Lauren Choplin, the NhRP · [email protected]
September 27, 2024 at 10:04 PM

Seeing Happy: An update

Please read and share After two and a half months of confinement in the Bronx Zoo elephant barn, Happy was finally seen in the exhibit yard this week.  When you look at this photo of Happy taken on Sunday by an NhRP supporter, what do you see?  We see the toll that a half century of captivity has h…
See More from Lauren Choplin, the NhRP
  The NhRP · [email protected]
September 26, 2024 at 8:51 PM

We’re making history in four weeks

Hi John, In just FOUR weeks, we’ll be making history for elephants and the fight for nonhuman rights.  On October 24th, the Colorado Supreme Court will hear our arguments on behalf of Jambo, LouLou, Lucky, Missy, and Kimba–five elephants currently living in captivity at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. …
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  The NhRP · [email protected]
September 22, 2024 at 2:01 PM

Happy Elephant Appreciation Day from the NhRP!

What it really means to appreciate elephants The law needs to recognize what science has long been telling us about who elephants are and how they suffer in zoos. This means recognizing elephants’ right to liberty.   This is one key part of what we’ll be arguing to the Colorado Supreme Court on Octo…
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  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…
See More from Christopher Berry, the NhRP
  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…
See More from Monica Miller via the NhRP
  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…
See More from Lauren Choplin, the NhRP
  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…
See More from Courtney Fern via the NhRP
  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…
See More from Elizabeth Stein via the NhRP
  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…
See More from Lauren C. via the NhRP
  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…
See More from Courtney Fern, the NhRP
  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…
See More from Lauren Choplin, the NhRP
  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…
See More from Jake Davis, the NhRP
  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…
See More from Courtney Fern, the NhRP
  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…
See More from Jake Davis, the NhRP
  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 …
See More from Peggy Cusack, the NhRP
  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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