Happy is getting her day in court after activists filed to establish her as a legal person in the eyes of the law.
The Wall Street Journal reports that lawyers from the Nonhuman Rights Project have filed a writ of habeas corpus in order to free Happy from the Bronx Zoo.
The elephant is being imprisoned against her will, according to the WSJ.
Happy became the first elephant to pass the mirror recognition test in 2005, according to the NRP. She has been alone since her enclosure-mate was euthanized because she doesn't get along with any of the other elephants.
The zoo said it would end its elephant captivity once another of their elephants died. Happy has remained in good health despite being older than 50 years old and has become The World's Loneliest Elephant.
Happy's case is one of many that the NRP and other organizations are undertaking to establish more rights for non-humans. There is at least one legal precedent for such cases.
The Wall Street Journal reported that lawyers are trying to get the elephant out of the zoo.
There is more elephantine sadness.
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