Nonhuman Rights Project

Retired Justice Barbara Jaffe published a powerful reflection in The Fulcrum today about the concept of judicial courage. She opens up about the ridicule she faced simply for granting the NhRP a chance for our lawsuit on behalf of two chimpanzees (Tommy and Kiko) to be heard.

“...the need to render decisions that might seem ridiculous to some also demands courage informed by the lessons of history.”

Without her willingness to open that door, key milestones in legal history may not have been made. Her courage paved the way for the former Court of Appeals Judge Fahey to issue his historic opinion in Tommy and Kiko’s case—in which he validated the NhRP’s argument—and later, for Chief Judge Wilson and Judge Rivera to issue their powerful dissents in the NhRP’s case on behalf of Happy the elephant.

Legal change rarely begins with consensus. It begins with people who are willing to seriously consider questions others dismiss.

We’re grateful for Justice Jaffe’s courage, thoughtfulness, and continued leadership.

Please read her article on judicial courage here: https://bit.ly/3RC2uIj

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court is currently deciding whether wild-born Asian elephants, Mari and Vaigai, can have their day in court. If they do, it will be the third time in US history that a state’s highest court hears arguments on behalf of a nonhuman animal's right to liberty.

The , which holds Mari and Vaigai captive in the tourist mecca of Waikīkī, wants the Court to look backward. They argue we should lose simply because other courts in other states have rejected similar claims. But landmark civil rights litigation never progresses in a straight line. It takes persistence through setbacks.

In our latest reply brief, we reminded the Court of its own legacy as a civil rights pioneer:

“Before Hawai‘i became the first state to recognize constitutional protections for same s*x couples seeking the right to marry, those couples had already endured years of litigation setbacks across the country, including an outright rejection by the U.S. Supreme Court. Still, prior defeats did not prevent this Court from becoming the first state high court to hold that denying marriage licenses to same s*x couples presumptively violated constitutional equality guarantees.”

Over the years, from Albany to Colorado Springs to Honolulu, your support has helped the NhRP make legal history, bringing the issue of nonhuman animal rights to high courts across the country.

As we wait to hear from the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court about next steps in our case for Mari and Vaigai, please donate today to support our fight for Mari and Vaigai: https://bit.ly/4nKAA96

🚨DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT (today and tomorrow only)

Big news! Every dollar you donate to the Nonhuman Rights Project over the next 48 hours will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $10,000.

The justice system still classifies autonomous nonhuman animals as legal "things" with no rights. The NhRP is on a mission to change that, but the fight to secure fundamental legal rights for nonhuman animals requires persistence. Legal breakthroughs require time, rigorous research, and strategic litigation.

Donate today to double your impact for animals: https://bit.ly/4tvmpGf
▪️ Your $25 becomes $50
▪️ Your $100 becomes $200

Please, help us build the legal foundation for lasting change. For those at risk, justice cannot wait.

The opportunity to have your gift to the NhRP matched, dollar for dollar, ends tomorrow (May 12) at midnight. Don’t miss this chance to make your support go twice as far! ❤️

For decades, the NhRP has advanced a simple but far-reaching idea: that nonhuman animals are entitled to fundamental legal rights.

Our work requires sustained effort—returning to courts again and again, refining legal strategies, and building the foundation for lasting change.

Every piece of progress we make for nonhuman animals is powered by people like you who support our work. And thanks to you—in courtrooms across the country, judges are now engaging directly with questions that were once easy to dismiss.

Here’s what that support helped made possible in 2025:

▪️ 21 nonhuman animal clients represented in our litigation.
▪️ 5 states where courts were asked to confront animals’ legal status and consider the inherent harm in denying them fundamental legal rights.
▪️ Evaluated and researched 17 new potential legal interventions aimed at developing procedural rules to treat nonhuman animals like subjects of the legal system entitled to fair process and protection.
▪️ Reached 5.8 million people on social media—helping shift public understanding of these issues
▪️ Reached nearly 370 million people through national and international media coverage that increasingly treats these legal questions with the seriousness they deserve.

These numbers reveal what’s possible when people choose to believe in and fight for a more just future for nonhuman animals.

In 2026, our work is expanding!

This year, we’re advancing a new legal strategy to address the justice system’s failure to enforce existing protections for nonhuman animals. This strategy is at the center of our case on behalf of the Ridglan beagles—a case that asks Wisconsin courts to simply deliver justice by protecting the beagles from unlawful animal cruelty.

At the same time, we’re continuing to press courts to confront the question of nonhuman animal liberty in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, and plan to file new lawsuits this year on behalf of more nonhuman animals.

Our goal this spring is to raise $45,000 by May 31 to sustain and grow our work in 2026. Every donation makes a difference. For those at risk, justice cannot wait.

👉 Donate now: https://bit.ly/4tkyBtk

The fight for Mari and Vaigai’s liberty is heading to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court. ⚖️🐘

For decades, these two elephants have been held captive at the Honolulu Zoo. Our case was dismissed by the lower court based on the tired, misguided argument that elephants aren't "persons" under the law.

But legal personhood isn't a biological label—it’s a safeguard for liberty.

The law must adapt to evolving knowledge, social norms, and scientific discovery. Science has established that elephants are autonomous beings who suffer greatly when deprived of their freedom. To deny them the right to challenge their confinement is an injustice.

We aren’t backing down, and we hope you won’t either.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: As our litigation continues, help us turn up the pressure on the Honolulu Zoo to do what’s right.

🔗 Submit our action alert to email the Honolulu Zoo Director, urging her to release Mari and Vaigai to an accredited elephant sanctuary: https://bit.ly/4uae1MU