Happy is an Asian Elephant confined in the Bronx Zoo in New York since 1977. Since 2018, Happy has been represented by lawyers at the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP). The NhRP have litigated for her legal personhood and freedom through a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a common-law prerogative that “brings the body” of an individual before a court to determine unlawful detention or imprisonment. The NhRP hopes that a court will recognize Happy’s legal personhood as a sentient, cognitively advanced, and emotive individual. Litigation has now reached the New York Court of Appeals. Within the NhRP’s legal materials to the Court is a legal brief (amicus curiae) submitted by Canadian animal law scholar Professor Maneesha Deckha, who holds the Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria. The hearing lasted one day and a ruling is expected in six to eight weeks. View the NhRP press release and hearing video here, and read more here.