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ARTICLE · 08 JUNE 2020

Habeas Corpus Petition For Elephant Strikes Out Again

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The Connecticut Appellate Court recently rejected yet another attempt by the animal rights group Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. (NHRP)

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
John M. Simpson
John M. Simpson
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The Connecticut Appellate Court recently rejected yet another attempt by the animal rights group Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. (NHRP) to free an elephant in private ownership through the device of a petition for habeas corpus. Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc. v. R. W. Commerford & Sons, Inc., No. AC 42795 (Conn. App. May 19, 2020).

We have reported on this litigation in prior posts ( here and here). In the first iteration of the case (Commerford I), a habeas petition was filed on behalf of three elephants (Beulah, Karen and Minnie) owned by a private exhibitor in Connecticut and was denied at the trial court level. The lower court's ruling was affirmed by the Appellate Court on the grounds that:

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