Bronx Zoo Elephant Happy Will Remain in Enclosure, Not Legally a Pers

AP

Happy the elephant will NOT be freed from the Bronx Zoo ... after New York's highest court ruled the animal is not legally a person and is thus not being illegally detained.

The ruling from the Court of Appeals came down Tuesday ... a 5-2 decision rejecting an animal rights organization's argument that Happy deserves the same liberty rights as a human.

Play video content 5/19/22 EMPOWERING ELEPHANTS

Remember ... the Nonhuman Rights Project sued to get Happy out of the zoo and moved to a more spacious sanctuary, arguing the Asian elephant is worthy of protections afforded to people as a cognitively complex and autonomous animal. Happy was captured in Asia back in the '70s when she was only 1 year old and has been at the Bronx Zoo ever since.

Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbnZZ5qopV9nfXN%2BjmltaGlkZK%2Bzu82xZLOnn2KyrbHPoZinrF2drrG82GalqKxdobKorculsGaolafAsLqMp5ywZamkv6x5wqisq6xdp8KtsdJo