VOA新闻杂志--美法院裁决:大象不符合“人”的定义,动物园未“非法拘禁”

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New York Court Rules That an Elephant Is Not a Person

Happy the elephant may be intelligent and worthy¹ of our care, but she cannot be considered a person, New York's top court ruled on Tuesday.

The closely watched legal case involved the Nonhuman Rights Project, NRP, and the Bronx Zoo.

Supporters at the Nonhuman Rights Project said Happy is an independent being with complex thinking abilities. They wanted her moved from what they say is a prison-like space she lives in at the zoo. They argued that she should have that right under law as "a person."

The Bronx Zoo, where Happy lives, argued Happy is neither illegally imprisoned² nor a person. The zoo and its supporters warned that a win for the Nonhuman Rights Project could open the door to more legal actions on behalf of animals, including pets, farm animals and other animals in zoos.

In a 5 to 2 decision, New York's Court of Appeals agreed with the Bronx Zoo's argument.

The court's majority said the law to protect the liberty of human beings does not apply to a nonhuman animal like Happy. The majority added that giving Happy the right to dispute her place in the zoo would have a major "destabilizing impact on modern society."

Two judges on the high court disagreed with the majority. They wrote that being an animal does not prevent Happy from having legal rights. They called her captivity³ "unjust and inhumane."

The ruling from New York's highest court cannot be appealed. The Nonhuman Rights Project has failed in similar cases, including those involving a chimpanzee in upstate New York named Tommy.

Steven Wise is the group's founder⁴. He said, "We will take a really close look at why we lost, and we'll try to make sure that that doesn't happen again to the extent that we can."

Happy was born in the wild in Asia in the early 1970s. She was captured and brought as a 1-year-old to the United States. She arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1977.

Words in This Story

captivity –n. a state of being held in a place and not being able to leave or to be free

1 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。