Maybe as early as next month, the New York Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments regarding a petition of habeas corpus that alleges that the detention of “Happy” (an elephant) is unlawful because under US law, she is a person. Captured and taken from her family in Thailand decades ago, Happy ended up in the Bronx Zoo in 1977. Today, she is in her 50s, retired from giving rides and performing tricks and living alone. She could live into her 70s.
This landmark case raises many questions about how animals are viewed by humans and the fraught relationship that endures between us. It very often comes down to the way we think of them, if we think of them at all.
It’s useful to remember there was a time when humans thought that the Earth was at the centre of the universe. Turns out our little planet is situated towards the edge of an unremarkable galaxy, the Milky Way, one among billions of galaxies scattered throughout the vastness of space.
We are slowly creeping towards the threshold of another revelation, that perhaps humankind needs to re-examine its presumptive superiority over other beings on the planet. The chart below shows our position in evolution – sitting on a branch among many others — not perched atop the tree as many of us imagine.
The customary way of holding ourselves up as some kind of gold standard against which to judge other species has deep roots in ancient times, and has been embedded in religions, cultures, and western philosophy passed down through the ages.
And it is this standard, by which we judge animals to be lesser versions of ourselves, that prevents us from acknowledging what science has now proven beyond all doubt: that animals are sentient, and possess intelligence, moral worth and rights. We are not the sole possessors of personhood.
An expert in animal behaviour and intelligence Dr. Lori Marino, is also a neuroscientist, author, and president of The Whale Sanctuary Project. In a presentation she gave recently to the Canadian Animal Law Conference she made the case for expanding the legal definition of personhood to include other animals.
Dr. Marino confirmed that it’s been scientifically proven that dolphins and great apes have “autonomy” in that they are unique individuals, with desires and a sense of self. They recognize themselves in mirrors — they know “that’s me” — a measure of a species’ self-awareness. They can mimic others, they can think about their own thoughts. They have intentionality and can understand causation. They understand the mental states of others and can empathize. They are capable of planning, they can travel mentally over time, they can plan a sequence of actions to reach a goal and they can delay gratification.
And yet human societies persist in treating these sentient beings as objects which makes it acceptable to deny them any agency or control over their lives — which flings the door wide open for use and abuse on a massive scale.
Elephants are also among the most intelligent, long-lived and sentient of animals. They grieve their dead, they protect their families, and appear to possess a theory of mind in that they understand themselves as individuals with thoughts that differ from others. And they suffer and understand suffering.
As we learn more about different types of intelligence, our deeply embedded attitudes will need to evolve. Humans are not the centre of life on Earth, any more than Earth is the centre of the universe. And surely Happy is a person in every way that matters. regardless of any human standard or court ruling.
