Summary
In 2013, the NGO NonHuman Rights Project filed a petition for a common law writ of habeas corpus lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court in order to give chimpanzees Hercules and Leo legal personhood and the right to bodily liberty. The chimpanzees were held in captivity at the New Iberia Research Center at the University of Louisiana and were leased to the Stony Brook University’s Department of Anatomical Sciences. The court denied its petition, and NhRP appealed. The appeal was dismissed. NhPH re-filed its appeal. The court ruled that it is bound to follow precedent and denied the petition. Following the hearing, Stony Brook was released to Project Chimps sanctuary.
Involved Organizations
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/nonhuman-rights-project-v-stanley/.
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