Et Tu, Brute? The Case for Human Rights for Animals

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Happy has lived in New York City’s Bronx Zoo for years. To visitors, she’s a lone Asian elephant. But to a team of animal rights lawyers, she’s a prisoner. 

They’ve petitioned state courts for a writ of Habeas Corpus; a legal maneuver that, if granted, would declare Happy a legal person who deserves to be freed. It’s the latest case in an ongoing fight to extend basic human rights to animals – one that could have big repercussions in the natural world. 

Because this is a case that deals with animals AND the law, two podcasts from New Hampshire Public Radio have teamed up to take it on: Outside/In and Civics 101. We always hear about the animal rights movement… but what rights do animals actually have? 

Featuring: Maneesha Deckha, Kevin Schneider

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LINKS

Listen and subscribe to Civics 101!

Check out which animals don’t get covered by the country’s biggest anti-cruelty law, the Animal Welfare Act, here.

Nonhuman Rights Project founder, Steven Wise, explained why he compares the plight of nonhuman animals to the plight of enslaved people in a wide-ranging interview with University of Toronto law professor Angela Fernandez in 2018. 

The New Yorker wrote about Happy the elephant’s legal case earlier this year. 

You can rent the HBO Documentary about Tommy the chimpanzee, Unlocking the Cage, on Apple TV.

We weren’t able to dive into it in this episode, but Maneesha has made a compelling case for not fighting for personhood for animals – instead, there should be a distinct third classification known as “legal beings.” Check out her lecture on it here. 

CREDITS

Hosts: Nate Hegyi, Hannah McCarthy, Nick Capodice

Reported and produced by: Nate Hegyi

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help and feedback from Nick Capodice, Hannah McCarthy, Rebecca Lavoie, and Nate Hegyi

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by El Flaco Collective, The Fly Guy Five, Jules Gaia, and Peerless. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

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