Animal rights group files lawsuit calling for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to release elephants

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Thursday, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) took legal action in hopes of relocating the elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to an elephant sanctuary.

The NhRP petitioned a judge in the 4th Judicial District to issue a writ of habeas corpus. If issued, it would require the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to justify in court that they are not unlawfully imprisoning the elephants there. If they can't, a judge could rule the elephants must be freed.

"These elephants are basically losing their minds," said NhRP Attorney Jake Davis. "They can't do anything that they have naturally evolved to do. They can't move over great distances, they can't experience varied landscapes. In fact, they can't even choose who they spend their days with."

This is the first time a lawsuit of this kind has been filed in Colorado, but the NhRP says it's incredibly necessary. They argue the 5 elephants currently at the zoo are showing signs of psychological trauma and stress because of the conditions they're living in.

David said it's now up to the courts to ask the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for a response, but if the courts choose not to force the zoo to participate, the case would be dismissed.

Similarly, if the case does go to trial but a judge decides the zoo has the justification to keep the elephants, the case would also be dismissed.

Davis said they are not placing any onus on the zoo to pay for relocating the elephants. If a judge rules the zoo must release them, the NhRP will pay for the elephants' transportation.

KRDO reached out to a spokesperson for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for comment earlier today, but they said it was the first they'd heard of the suit.