Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Meet Happy, an elephant at New York's Bronx Zoo. Happy was captured in Thailand as a calf and has lived at the Bronx Zoo for decades, often alone for years. An animal rights group sought a writ of habeas corpus to move her to a sanctuary, arguing she was effectively imprisoned.
The New York Court of Appeals denied the request, ruling that habeas corpus protects humans, not animals, and that legal rights require legal duties. Five judges agreed, while two dissented, leaving the debate over animal personhood and custody unresolved.
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec.
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals and based in Cambridge, UK. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org (animalrightslaw.org/) .
Meet Happy, an elephant at New York's Bronx Zoo. Happy was captured in Thailand as a calf and has lived at the Bronx Zoo for decades, often alone for years. An animal rights group sought a writ of habeas corpus to move her to a sanctuary, arguing she was effectively imprisoned.
The New York Court of Appeals denied the request, ruling that habeas corpus protects humans, not animals, and that legal rights require legal duties. Five judges agreed, while two dissented, leaving the debate over animal personhood and custody unresolved.
Animal Rights Tour is written by Sean Butler, hosted by Carly McCann, and fact-checked by Paulina Siemieniec.
This podcast is produced by the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, an academic centre of competence dedicated to the study of fundamental rights for non-human animals and based in Cambridge, UK. Learn more about the Centre at animalrightslaw.org (animalrightslaw.org/) .
