An animal rights group has had their hopes dashed by a court after it revealed that elephants can't pursue their own release from a zoo. The Nonhuman Rights Project brought a lawsuit to a court, hoping to see the release of a group of five elephants from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.
The plan was to use a legal process known as habeas corpus - which in Latin means "you may have the body" - in order to grant the elephants their release. For humans, this allows another party to bring a case to court so that the legality of a detention can be examined.
The Nonhuman Rights Project argued staying in the zoo had damaged the elephants' mental health. But, as Sky News reported, unfortunately the court ruled that the elephants couldn't pursue their release as they aren't human.
"The legal question here boils down to whether an elephant is a person," the court said. "And because an elephant is not a person, the elephants here do not have standing to bring a habeas corpus claim."
The zoo said it is glad to hear the court's ruling, but is saddened that the case even got this far.