23 May 2022

Happy the 51 year old elephant 'illegally imprisoned' for years

From Morning Report, 8:48 am on 23 May 2022

A court battle in New York may change the way we look at animals.

Happy is a 51-year-old Asian elephant that's been living at the New York City Zoo since 1977.

Court records show Happy has been kept in an enclosure separate from other elephants for the past 16 years.

Florida-based Nonhuman Rights Project is a civil rights organisation and four years ago they started campaigning for Happy to be released to an elephant sanctuary, saying the animal was being illegally imprisoned.

We spoke to Steven Wise, co-founder and president of the organisation.