Five elephants in a Colorado zoo could someday sue for their freedom, if the state91裸聊视频檚 Supreme Court sides with an animal rights group and declares them 91裸聊视频減ersons91裸聊视频� under the law. But first, the justices had a few questions about cats and dogs.

91裸聊视频淗ow do I know when it stops?91裸聊视频� Justice Melissa Hart said during Thursday91裸聊视频檚 hearing, wondering whether this ruling might someday lead to emancipating people91裸聊视频檚 pets. At stake is whether the elephants from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo should be treated as people under the law. It was a question asked several times but never really answered.

The NonHuman Rights Project says the elephants 91裸聊视频� Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo 91裸聊视频� should be able to use a long-held process that91裸聊视频檚 mainly for prisoners to dispute their detention. The group says the animals, born in the wild in Africa, are showing signs of brain damage because the zoo is essentially a prison for such intelligent and social creatures, known to roam for miles a day. They want the animals released to one of the two accredited elephant sanctuaries in the United States because the group doesn91裸聊视频檛 think they can live the wild anymore.

The group unsuccessfully sued in 2022 on behalf of an elephant at the Bronx Zoo named Happy. The highest court in New York ruled that Happy, , cannot be considered a person who is illegally confined with the ability to pursue a petition seeking release.

The New York ruling said giving such rights to an elephant 91裸聊视频渨ould have an enormous destabilizing impact on modern society.91裸聊视频�

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo says moving the elephants and potentially placing them with new animals would be cruel at their age, possibly causing unnecessary stress. It says they aren91裸聊视频檛 used to being in larger herds and, based on its experience, they don91裸聊视频檛 have the skills or desire to join one.

The justices will issue a ruling in the coming weeks or months.

During the hearing, the group91裸聊视频檚 lawyer, Jake Davis, urged the justices to focus on the five 91裸聊视频渋ndividuals91裸聊视频� he represents. He asked them to rule that the elephants can pursue a habeas corpus petition and send the case back to a lower court, which would consider the petition and decide if the animals should leave the zoo. However, he did say domesticated animals like dogs, which are familiar with lounging on the couch, are in much different category than wild animals.

Justice Maria Berkenkotter said Davis 91裸聊视频渂eautifully and painfully91裸聊视频� described the elephants91裸聊视频� rocking behavior, which the group says shows distress. But she wondered if the group should instead try changing the law at the state legislature or passing a ballot measure to protect the elephants.

Chief Justice Monica Marquez pressed the zoo91裸聊视频檚 attorney on a main point made by the animal rights group91裸聊视频� that the right to habeas corpus has been extended over the years, such as to enslaved people and women in abusive marriages.

All those extensions were made to human beings, countered John Suthers, a former U.S. attorney and Colorado attorney general who represented the zoo. He pointed to Happy91裸聊视频檚 case in New York, where the judges ruled that the right to challenge detention belongs to human beings because they are humans who can be held accountable by the legal system.

91裸聊视频淭his court, no court is the proper venue for what they91裸聊视频檙e trying to accomplish,91裸聊视频� he said.