On Saturday, April 30th, dozens of activists with the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) staged a rally at the Bronx Zoo to demand that the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which manages the zoo, release a 51 year old Asian elephant named Happy to a sanctuary after holding her captive in a small enclosure since 1977.

Happy was kidnapped from a forest in Thailand in 1971, and she has lived at the Bronx Zoo for 45 years. Despite the fact that elephants are highly social animals who travel long distances with their herds each day, Happy lives by herself and splits her time between on a one acre plot of land and a windowless, concrete room. 

Happy, who lives alone, splits her time between a windowless concrete room and a one acre plot of land at the Bronx Zoo.

NhRP, a nonprofit legal group that represents captive animals, staged the event in advance of Happy’s upcoming hearing at the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. During the hearing, lawyers with NhRP will argue that the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society “have unlawfully deprived Happy of her freedom, imprisoning her alone in an exhibit that is too small to meet the needs of Happy or any elephant.” If NhRP wins the case at the Court of Appeals, then the WCS would be forced to send her to one of the two elephant sanctuaries in the United States. 

The Atlantic describes the Nonhuman Rights Project’s right to bodily liberty case on behalf of Happy “the most important animal rights case of the 21st century.”

Happy’s case advanced to the Court of Appeals after being heard in two lower courts. According to The Atlantic, it is “the most important animal-rights case of the 21st century.”

New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, will be hearing oral arguments in the Nonhuman Right Project’s case to grant bodily liberty to Happy, an elephant held captive at the Bronx Zoo.

Both of the elephant sanctuaries in the United States, the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and the Performing Animal Welfare Society in California, have agreed to take Happy at no cost to the Bronx Zoo, but the WCS has refused to let her go. “The Wildlife Conservation Society acknowledged in 2006 that keeping Happy alone would be inhumane, so we don’t understand why they won’t release her from captivity,” said Kevin Schneider, the Executive Director of NhRP. “They either don’t want to acknowledge that Happy’s captivity and solitary confinement are cruel, or they don’t want to cave into pressure from animal rights advocates.”

The Atlantic called the Nonhuman Rights Project’s Case on behalf of Happy the “most important animal rights case of the 21st century.”

In 2018, the NnRP filed a petition for a common law writ of habeas corpus in New York Supreme Court demanding recognition of Happy’s legal personhood and her fundamental right to bodily liberty. Happy is first elephant in the world to have a habeas corpus hearing to determine the lawfulness of her imprisonment.

As litigation has proceeded in recent years, public support for Happy’s freedom has grown. In 2019, two elected officials made public statements encouraging the WCS to free Happy. Corey Johnson, the Speaker of the New York City Council at the time, wrote, “Happy and all elephants need more space and resources than the zoo can provide, plain and simple. I urge the Bronx Zoo, which first planned to close the elephant exhibit back in 2006, to finally transfer Happy to one of two recommended sanctuaries so that she can enjoy the company of other elephants and the benefits afforded to a facility specifically designed to meet her needs.” In a tweet, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has voiced her opposition to solitary confinement for prison inmates, said that “The team and I are looking into what we can do” to free Happy.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a U.S. Congress  Member who represents the Bronx, offers her support to the Nonhuman Rights Project in its efforts to liberate Happy, an Asian elephant, from the Bronx Zoo

In 2021, the animal advocacy group In Defense of Animals ranked the Bronx Zoo the fifth worst zoo in the United States for elephants. “There are no good zoos for elephants. All zoos restrain these giant, complex animals through a lack of space and freedom of choice that all far-roaming animals require for their mental and physical health. Even zoos deemed to be the very best are failing elephants’ bodies, minds, and spirits.”

Dozens of animal rights activists participated in a rally organized by the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) calling on the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to release Happy, an Asian elephant, to a sanctuary.

Before NhRP’s rally, the Bronx Zoo shut down the entrance where the activists convened.  The closure appeared to be an effort to reduce the number of zoo visitors who would learn about Happy’s plight. The zoo also sent an employee to document the protest. As lawyers with NhRP delivered remarks to rally participants, this employee approached the group’s unattended bags. TheirTurn caught her in the act and confronted her on camera. NhRP staff members at the rally knew that she was employed by the zoo because they have seen her at court hearings.

A Change.org petition demanding an end to Happy’s solitary confinement has garnered over 1.4 million signatures. The petition targets to James Breheny, the Director of the Bronx Zoo. 

Horse racing fans wore more than just fancy hats and preppy blazers to the 2021 Belmont Stakes. As they walked past dozens of animal rights activists staging a protest at the main gate, they also wore blinders to avoid the images and messages on the posters. As one man said with a touch of guilt in his voice, “Let me just enjoy the horse race.”

The three hour protest, organized by the Albany-based advocacy group Horseracing Wrongs, generated mainstream TV and radio news coverage, so the messages about animal cruelty reached a mainstream public that is increasingly disenchanted with horse racing due to the spate of deaths reported in recent years. At Belmont Park alone, over 500 horses have died since 2009.

ABC News and other mainstream media outlets reported on the large protest at Belmont Stakes.

According to Patrick Battuello, the director of Horseracing Wrongs, the horses are victims of abuse for their entire lives. “They are torn from their mothers at birth. Their bodies are pounded years before they are done forming. They’re confined in stalls for over 23 hours a day. They’re socially isolated in spite of the fact that they’re herd animals. They’re drugged, doped and beaten with whips. They’re bought, sold and traded like inanimate objects. The vast majority of horses who don’t die on the tracks are killed in a slaughterhouse.”

Animal rights activists protesting the Belmont Stakes horse races confront patrons who put on their blinders while walking through a sea of images of horse racing cruelty

Support for a ban on the horse racing industry began to take hold in the mainstream public in 2018 and 2019 after 35 horses died over the course of a few months at the Santa Anita racetrack. At the time, the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “Over time, Americans have to decide how much death they are willing to tolerate in this ancient sport.” Since then, both The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer have published editorials calling for an end to the horse racing industry.

In 2020, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer published editorials calling for an end to the horse racing industry

While speaking to reporters during the protest at Belmont Park, activists made another case for a ban on horse racing: New York gives Belmont Stakes and other race tracks across the state over  $220 million in taxpayer subsidies. Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director of NYCLASS, said her organization is part of coalition of advocacy groups calling on state lawmakers to end the handouts and redirect the money to more worthy causes. “We want to defund horse racing,” said Birnkrant. “Our tax dollars should be used for healthcare or eduction, not for corporate welfare.”

The vast majority of horses who don’t die on the track are shipped to Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered.

Starting in mid-July, Horseracing Wrongs will stage protests at the Saratoga Race Track in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Natasha Brenner, a suburbanite who moved into New York City at the age of 87 and became a beloved fixture in the animal rights movement, has died at 98.

Animal rights activist Natasha Brenner moved from the suburbs of Long Island into NYC at the age of 87

In 2008, Natasha, then 87, and her husband Noah, who died in 2014, moved into the City from Long Island and dedicated the last years of their lives to fighting for the rights of animals. When she turned 97, Natasha gave an interview about her fascinating life, which started before the Great Depression and ended during the historic COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout her late 80s and 90s, Natasha worked on several grass roots animal rights campaigns in the streets and online, but the one closest to her heart was the effort to ban horse-drawn carriages. She would always say the thing she wanted to see most before she died was for the horses to be taken out of harm’s way and given a humane retirement. She was therefore elated when, in 2012, Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio made a campaign pledge to ban horse-drawn carriages. She was crestfallen when he didn’t fulfill his promise. However, she died knowing that the horses, who were taken out of NYC due to the corona virus pandemic, might not return for a very long time, if ever.

Natasha Brenner participates in a protest in NYC during which participants were asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to fulfill his promise to ban horse-drawn carriages

Natasha was an extravagant woman – but not with herself. Instead of buying things, Natasha gave her money to charity. In fact, the spreadsheet with the list of charities she supported was breathtaking. But Natasha was generous with her time too. When they were mobile, Natasha and Noah participated in protests around NYC all the time. Because of their age, their mere presence captured peoples’ attention; they knew they were a secret weapon. After the protests, Natasha and Noah insisted on taking the subway home instead of a taxi. Their friends used to hover over them as they entered the subway station because we were terrified that they would tumble down the steps — canes and walkers flying through the air. Their bodies were fragile, but they prioritized helping others over their own safety.

Animal rights activist Natasha Brenner speaks to a reporter during a horse-drawn carriage protest at Gracie Mansion, the residence of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio

In 2018, the animal rights group Mercy For Animals produced a video about Natasha’s life.

As she aged through her 90s, Natasha stopped participating in the street protests, but she stayed active online. She also maintained a robust social life because her many younger friends loved her and enjoyed her company. She was sharp, funny and caring until the end. Following are two of the many testimonials published on social media:

For the past seven or eight years, Natasha’s friends hosted an annual birthday dinner for her. They thought that the tradition would continue until she turned 100, given her good physical and mental health. Unfortunately, Natasha fell and broke her shoulder a few weeks ago, and that was the beginning of the end.  She died in the comfort of her own home on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on May 25th, 2020.

Distressing video footage of a carriage horse repeatedly collapsing on the street and being dragged into a trailer triggered a massive vigil at the site of the tragic incident and a protest at the midtown stable where she later died. The horse, Aisha, was 12 years old and had been pulling a carriage in New York City for one year when she died on February 26th.

At the request of NYCLASS, an animal rights group that advocates on behalf the horses, the NYPD Animal Cruelty Squad launched an investigation into Aisha’s death.

“To the carriage operators, these horses are commodities,” said Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director of NYCLASS. “By forcing Aisha into the trailer in order to get her out of public view, the drivers prioritized optics ahead of the welfare of the horse, who should have been kept where she was until a veterinarian arrived to examine her. The carriage operators did not follow the protocol on moving a downed horse. The trauma they caused by treating her with such brutality may have contributed to her death.”

Aisha, a horse who pulled carriages in NYC, repeatedly collapsed and was loaded into a trailer. She was euthanized at a midtown stable later that day.

Footage of Aisha collapsing and a carriage driver blowing smoke into her face to force her into the trailer went viral on social media. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has been widely criticized over his failure to fulfill his campaign promise to ban horse-drawn carriages, said that he was “disgusted” by the City’s horse-drawn carriage trade.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called for an investigation:

Aisha’s death is the third carriage horse fatality on record in 2020. According to the New York City Department of Health (DOH), the other two horses died of colic.

In addition to the horses who died, one horse collapsed on the street after being electrocuted and crashing into a pole, and another horse was emaciated was documented on several occasions pulling a carriage. In spite of NYCLASS’ pleas, the DOH allowed the horse to continue working.

NYCLASS documented an emaciated horse being forced to pull a carriage in New York City

During the vigil for Aishi, NYC-based musicians Kiirstin Marilyn and Kirk Miller performed Sia’s I’m in Here as dozens of animal rights activists placed flowers on the ground where she collapsed.

The animal rights community in New York has been advocating for a ban on New York’s horse-drawn carriage trade since 2006, when a horse named Spotty spooked on Ninth Ave and crashed into a car, killing the horse and sending the carriage driver to the hospital with serious injuries.

Spotty died after spooking and crashing into a car, sending 3 people to the hospital.

In 2012, Bill de Blasio pledged to quickly ban the industry if he was elected Mayor, but his failure to act quickly after his victory gave the carriage operators, media, the Teamsters Union and actor Liam Neeson, an industry spokesperson, several months to build public support for the industry. NYCLASS, however, isn’t giving up. After the series of tragic incidents in 2020, the organization renewed its demand for horse-drawn carriages to be banned in New York City.

“This industry is out of control and must be shut down,” said Birnkrant. “We have been documenting the carriage operators breaking the law for months — from picking up passengers in Times Square to overloading the carriages.”