On Thursday, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ) will appear before the Colorado Supreme Court to argue whether its elephants should be turned over to an animal sanctuary. This is the first case of its kind in Colorado.
The five elephants in question are Jambo, Missy, LouLou, Kimba, and Lucky.
The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) argues that the elephants at CMZ are exhibiting troubling behaviors caused by chronic stress and trauma.
"We're asking the Colorado Supreme Court to recognize the fundamental right to liberty for our clients Jambo, Kimba, LouLou, Lucky, and Missy: five African elephants who were taken from their herds as babies and have been living in captivity for decades," the NhRP states on its website. "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."
CMZ called the group an "out-of-state extreme animal rights organization."
"As our community already knows, at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, we take excellent care of our beloved elephants," CMZ said in a statement. "The NhRP's case is not about our elephant care. Their goal is to establish a court precedent granting habeas corpus to any animal. Our elephants are just the next target on their list of failed attempts at setting this precedent. NhRP is an out-of-state extreme animal rights organization known in the Zoo profession for wasting credible organizations' time and money with misguided lawsuits. This manipulative fundraising act aims to upset and mislead people who care about animals."
John Suthers, CMZ's attorney, argued that the zoo takes excellent care of all its animals and meets their needs.
"The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has the highest AZA accreditation possible. In fact, it got a perfect score," Suthers said.
"Suggesting they'd be better off at a sanctuary is simply incorrect," CMZ added. "Popular opinions about what's considered best for elephants in general are not what's best for Jambo, Miss, LouLou, Kimba or Lucky."
An El Paso County judge initially dismissed the lawsuit after the group had brought it up in June.
You can read the full statement from CMZ below:
