The NhRP is filing habeas corpus petitions (traditionally used for unlawful human detention) for animals. They are not asking for better welfare for a chimpanzee in a lab; they are asking for the chimpanzee's release to a sanctuary.
In the summer of 2023, a video went viral. It showed a dairy cow, standing in a concrete stall, her head tethered to a metal pipe. She could not turn around, lie down comfortably, or groom her calf, which had been taken away hours after birth. The comment section was a war zone. One user wrote, "This is why I'm vegan." Another countered, "This farm is certified humane. The cow has food, water, and shelter. What more do you want?" The NhRP is filing habeas corpus petitions (traditionally
To understand the future of our relationship with animals—from the factory farm to the research lab, from the zoo to the living room couch—we must first understand the fault line separating welfare from rights. Animal welfare is a concept rooted in utilitarianism and pragmatism. It does not demand that humans stop using animals; rather, it demands that while we use them, we minimize their suffering. It showed a dairy cow, standing in a
However, animal rights is the only philosophy that offers an endgame . Welfare reforms are like putting a bandage on a hemorrhage. They make the system less ugly, but they do not challenge the premise that animals are here for us. Without the Rights vision pulling the conversation toward abolition, welfare standards will always drift toward the lowest economic denominator. We do not have to choose a side entirely. You can be a welfarist in the streets (voting for cage-free laws today) and a rights advocate in the long-term (funding cultivated meat research and vegan outreach). One user wrote, "This is why I'm vegan
In 2022, they won a landmark case in Argentina for an orangutan named Sandra, who was declared a "non-human person" with the right to freedom. In 2024, courts are deliberating the fate of Happy the elephant at the Bronx Zoo.
