The case over the captivity of elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is headed to the Colorado Supreme Court

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KRDO) – This week, representatives of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will appear before the Colorado Supreme Court to defend their care of five elephants in a case that marks a legal first for the state.

The lawsuit, which claims the five elephants held at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are suffering in captivity, seeks to place the animals in a wildlife sanctuary with more room to roam.

The “Non-Human Rights Project” (NhRP) claims that the zoo’s enclosures only allow the animals to move about 100 meters in any direction and that the elephants “exhibit worrying behaviors caused by chronic stress and trauma” .

“From their earliest years in this world, these elephants have known very little beyond the terror of being kidnapped from their matriarchal herds and a life relegated to one behind bars for human entertainment and amusement,” said staff attorney of NhRP, Jake Davis, on Facebook. video

But the zoo argues that it provides “excellent” and “specific” care to its five elephants: Jambo, Missy, LouLou, Kimba and Lucky.

In an Oct. 22 press release, the zoo called NhRP an “extreme out-of-state animal rights organization” and said the group was “known in the zoo profession for wasting time and money from credible organizations with wrong claims.”

“The NhRP case is not about our care of elephants. Its goal is to set a judicial precedent that grants habeas corpus to any animal. Our elephants are just the next target on their list of failed attempts to set that precedent,” the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo wrote. at launch.

The zoo also claims to be nationally recognized as a leader in animal care and conservation, and has received more than 35 years of accreditation from the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums.

“Our elephant care team knows the needs of our elephants and tailors specific health and exercise programs based on each elephant’s needs and preferences. To suggest that they would be better off in a sanctuary is simply wrong,” said the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in the release. .

The suit was lost in a Colorado Springs district court in June before animal justice lawyers appealed to the state Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case.

The case will be argued in a Boulder courtroom on Thursday, October 24. This will be the first time the Colorado Supreme Court will consider whether a nonhuman animal is entitled to this form of legal protection.