Overview
- The Bronx Zoo euthanized Happy after a period of hospice-style care, which the zoo said occurred Tuesday, and veterinarians found severe arthritis, large inoperable uterine tumors, and signs of declining kidney or liver function.
- Zoo staff said the decision was made by veterinary and animal-care teams based on assessments of Happy’s quality of life and that she died peacefully with longtime keepers at her side.
- Happy was a subject of scientific study that suggested mirror self-recognition in elephants and was the focus of a 2018 habeas-style lawsuit by the Nonhuman Rights Project that New York’s highest court rejected in a 5–2 ruling.
- Advocates and groups including Born Free USA have long criticized Happy’s long-term, effectively solitary housing after her companions died and are intensifying calls to move Patty, the Bronx Zoo’s 57-year-old remaining elephant, to a sanctuary.
- The Wildlife Conservation Society says it will carefully consider Patty’s care and management going forward, a decision that could prompt renewed reviews of zoo policies, legal strategies for animal protection, and public oversight of captive-elephant welfare.