R.I.P. Happy: Zoo elephant at the center of animal rights legal case is euthanized
R.I.P. Happy: Zoo elephant at the center of animal rights legal case is euthanized
The Nonhuman Rights Project sued the Bronx Zoo in 2018, seeking to have Happy declared a ‘person’ for legal purposes and moved to a large animal sanctuary. It was the first such case about an elephant. Citing a principle that’s used to challenge the legality of a person’s imprisonment, the activist group said Happy was ‘an extraordinarily cognitively complex and autonomous nonhuman being’ who was unlawfully deprived of her liberty and suffered from being pent- up in a exhibit without other elephants. New York’s top court ultimately rejected the activists’ claim, by a 5-2 majority. Still, two of the New York […]
Puppy Love: How opposition to animal testing is bridging the political divide
Puppy Love: How opposition to animal testing is bridging the political divide
On April 30, Ridglan Farms finally buckled to public pressure, handing the movement against animal testing one of its biggest triumphs, an agreement to purchase 1,500 beagles for an undisclosed amount of money. The hard-won concession was made possible by an unlikely and uncoordinated alliance of advocates from the left and right. While left-leaning animal rights groups like Direct Action Everywhere have carried out past break-in efforts to rescue the dogs, MAGA luminary Lara Trump, President Trump’s daughter-in-law, waged a highly visible pressure campaign on the company and the animal testing industry. At a time when partisan divisions continue to widen in […]
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL: The collision between open rescue and Ridglan Farms’ confidential deal
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL: The collision between open rescue and Ridglan Farms’ confidential deal
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy negotiated a confidential agreement to buy roughly 1,500 beagles from Ridglan Farms for an undisclosed price. Without transparency, the deal raises an uncomfortable possibility. Ridglan may be receiving a financial exit at the same moment growing public pressure and legal scrutiny are making its operation politically costly. That creates a moral dilemma for donors. If commercial breeders believe they can sell off animals to well-funded rescue groups when public pressure mounts, the financial risk of the business shrinks. Deals like this may become a predictable endgame, not a deterrent. ED […]
