Huge Legal Breakthrough for Animal Rights

For the first time, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador has recognized the legal rights of nonhuman animals. The ruling not only elevates the legal status of nonhuman animals under Ecuador's constitutional rights of nature but also requires that new legislation be drafted to protect the rights of animals. The court's ruling was the result of a habeas corpus action filed by Ana Beatriz Burbano Proaño on behalf of Estrellita, a woolly monkey who had lived in her home for 18 years. Environmental authorities had forcibly seized the monkey on the grounds that possessing a wild animal is prohibited by Ecuador law. Estrellita died within a month of being relocated to a zoo. How does this breakthrough ruling impact animals in other parts of the world, including the United States? Let's find out with our esteemed legal panel from the Nonhuman Rights Project and Harvard, including some of those who worked on the case. Please support the groundbreaking work of the Nonhuman Rights Project at: www.nonhumanrights.org.