Protect The Harvest | Happy Decision – A Win for Animals Across the Country

Today we are celebrating the New York State Court of Appeals’ 5-2 decision regarding Happy the Elephant at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Protect The Harvest has been involved in this fight from the beginning and we are very pleased to announce that the court has ruled in our favor, in the favor of the rest of the respondents, in the favor of Happy the Elephant, and the favor of animals across the country.

Over the last few years, a legal fight has been going on in New York State between those who support animal welfare and those who subscribe to the animal extremist ideology. The negative outcome of this case would have had a devastating impact on animals across the country.

The case was repeatedly brought to court by Steven Wise and the NonHuman Rights Project (NhRP) Wise was attempting to give Happy the Elephant, who has lived for 44 of her 45 years at the Bronx Zoo, human status and claimed she was being held illegally as a prisoner. This is not the first attempt by Wise, NhRP, and other animal extremist groups to award personhood to animals and remove them from human care.

Brief Summary of New York State of Appeals Opinion by Chief Judge DiFiore

State of New York Court of Appeals Opinion, prepared by Chief Judge DiFiore opens with the following:
“For centuries, the common law writ of habeas corpus has safeguarded the liberty rights of human beings by providing a means to secure release from illegal custody.