Share
Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over whether the Honolulu Zoo’s elephants have the human right against illegal incarceration.
The zoo’s elephants, Vaigai and Mari, are 40 and 51 years old.
The case is part of a national movement to give elephants rights similar to those of people when it comes to their confinement.
Arguments over confinement
The 15-year-old, 2½-acre enclosure includes two deep swimming pools and separate housing areas.
Animal welfare organizations consider the enclosure inadequate.
Attorneys for the Nonhuman Rights Project argue the elephants are intelligent, self-aware and autonomous. They argue the elephants are entitled to protection under wrongful detention laws that have never been applied to animals.
“They were born to be free. They were born to thrive, and they have been relegated to some of the harshest conditions of any zoo in America,” Jake Davis of the Nonhuman Rights Project said.
City and zoo respond
Patricia Sendao, deputy county corporation counsel, argued against the claim.
“It’s a sweeping pronouncement that fundamentally alters our laws regarding ...