The Nonhuman Rights Project is leading the fight to win actual legal rights for nonhuman animals through a state-by-state, country-by-country, long-term litigation campaign. Our groundbreaking habeas corpus lawsuits demand recognition of the legal personhood and fundamental right to bodily liberty of individual great apes, elephants, dolphins, and whales held in captivity across the US. With the support of world-renowned scientists, we argue that common law courts must free these self-aware, autonomous beings to appropriate sanctuaries not out of concern for their welfare, but respect for their rights.

Our litigation team works in tandem with our public policy and campaigns team to help build a national and global movement to win legal personhood and rights for nonhuman animals.

In addition to our work in the US, we’ve begun to help set up and collaborate with legal working groups in England, Spain, France, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Portugal, Argentina, Israel, Turkey, India, and Australia to develop nonhuman rights campaigns suited to the respective legal systems of these countries.