• New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science
Saturday, May 21, 2022
  • Login
  • Register
NYC Daily Post
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science
No Result
View All Result
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science
No Result
View All Result
NYC Daily Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle

Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos legally ‘people’: US judge

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
October 26, 2021
in Lifestyle
Reading Time: 4min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


The offspring of hippos once owned by Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar can be recognized as people or “interested persons” with legal rights in the US following a federal court order.

The case involves a lawsuit against the Colombian government over whether to kill or sterilize the hippos whose numbers are growing at a fast pace and pose a threat to biodiversity.

An animal rights groups is hailing the order as a milestone victory in the long-sought efforts to sway the US justice system to grant animals personhood status. But the order won’t carry any weight in Colombia where the hippos live, a legal expert said.

“The ruling has no impact in Colombia because they only have an impact within their own territories. It will be the Colombian authorities who decide what to do with the hippos and not the American ones,” said Camilo Burbano Cifuentes, a criminal law professor at the Universidad Externado de Colombia.

The “cocaine hippos” are descendants of animals that Escobar illegally imported to his Colombian ranch in the 1980s when he reigned over the country’s drug trade. After his death in a 1993 shootout with authorities, the hippos were abandoned at the estate and left to thrive with no natural predators — their numbers have increased in the last eight years from 35 to somewhere between 65 and 80.

Hippo lady Vanessa comes out of her pond at the "Hacienda N'poles". The hippos, which the drug lord Pablo Escobar once brought to Colombia, have multiplied so much that the country is looking for a solution for the animals.
Hippo lady Vanessa comes out of her pond at the “Hacienda N’poles”. The hippos, which the drug lord Pablo Escobar once brought to Colombia, have multiplied so much that the country is looking for a solution for the animals.
Luis Bernardo Cano/picture-alliance/dpa/AP

A group of scientists has warned that the hippos pose a major threat to the area’s biodiversity and could lead to deadly encounters with humans. They are advocating for some of the animals to be killed. A government agency has started sterilizing some of the hippos, but there is a debate on what are the safest methods.

In the suit, attorneys for the Animal Legal Defense Fund asked the US District Court in Cincinnati to give “interested persons” status to the hippos so that two wildlife experts in sterilization from Ohio could be deposed in the case.

Federal magistrate Judge Karen Litkovitz in Cincinnati granted the request on Oct. 15. The animal rights group based near San Francisco said it believes it’s the first time animals have been declared legal persons in the US.

Their attorneys argued that because advocates for the hippos can bring lawsuits to protect their interests in Colombia that the hippos should be allowed to be considered “interested persons” under US law.

They pointed to a federal statute that allows anyone who is an “interested person” in a foreign lawsuit to ask a federal court to permit them to take depositions in the US in support of their case.

Christopher Berry, the lead attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, called it a narrow but profound ruling.

“This really is part of a bigger movement of advocating that animals’ interest be represented in court,” he said. “We’re not asking to make up a new law. We’re just asking that animals have the ability to enforce the rights that have already been given to them.”

While animals have been granted legal rights in India, Pakistan and Argentina, courts in the US have been unwilling to do so until now.

Pablo Escobar in Colombia in February, 1988.
Pablo Escobar in Colombia in February, 1988.
Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

A judge in Connecticut called a petition filed four years ago by an animal rights group to grant personhood to three elephants in a traveling petting zoo “wholly frivolous.”

In another closely watched case, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, agreed in May to decide whether an elephant at the Bronx Zoo should get human-like rights and be moved to a sanctuary.

Earlier rulings dismissed the claims from the animal rights groups. The zoo contends that granting legal “personhood” to the the elephant named Happy would set a dangerous precedent and has called the efforts “ludicrous.” Gun rights groups also have criticized the move out of concern it could impact hunting or set a precedent.

Backers point to court rulings that have given corporations legal rights and considered them to be legal persons — reasoning that animals should be treated the same under the law.

“Legal personhood is just the ability to have your interest heard and represented in court,” Berry said. “It’s about enforcing rights they already have under animal cruelty laws and other protection laws.”



Published on: Article source

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: animal rightsanimalscourtshipposLivingpablo escobar
The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff

The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff

Related Posts

Anti-Trans Laws Will Have a Chilling Effect on Medicine

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 31, 2022
0

On this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility, we should be celebrating the accomplishments, honoring the resilience and advocating loudly...

Cartier and Other Richemont Labels Leave Responsible Jewellery Council

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 31, 2022
0

Cartier and other labels of the Richemont group have stepped down from the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) after the...

Understanding aphasia, the condition impacting Bruce Willis’ acting career

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 31, 2022
0

Bruce Willis attends the premiere of "Motherless Brooklyn" during the 57th New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall...

The Best Coffee Makers With Grinders Do It All

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 31, 2022
0

Coffee-brewing technology is at the top of its game, and it’s difficult to keep up with the latest innovations,...

‘The World as 100 People’ gives us 6 great reasons to believe humanity is on the right track

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 30, 2022
0

It’s unfortunate that humans are wired to notice everything bad going on in the world and to ignore the...

This Southeast Asian Artist Uses Iconic Pink Doughnut Boxes as a Canvas for Storytelling

by The NYC Daily Post Editorial Staff
March 31, 2022
0

Artist Phung Huynh tells the story of “doughnut kids” — second-generation Cambodian Americans who grew up in their family’s...

Next Post

Trump pledges to ‘restore’ free speech through new media company

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Recommended

The Comedies That Understand What Peak Scammer TV Does Not

2 months ago

King fights back to make last eight

5 months ago

Popular News

  • Tom Cruise insisted ‘driving force’ Val Kilmer appear in ‘Top Gun’ sequel

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The big top is big enough for everyone: New York’s Omnium Circus

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Cambridge University student athletes strip naked for risqué calendar

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sophia Urista, silent amid scandal, isn’t first rocker to pee on stage

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi’s $16M mansion burglarized

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get the latest news from the US and around the world in your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE

Category

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • New York
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • U.S.
  • World

Site Links

  • Home
  • Meet our leadership
  • Newsletter
  • Submit an Article

The New York City Daily Post

Welcome to the world’s premier daily news platform. We bring you the latest news from the US and around the world right at your fingertips.

  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Science

© 2021. The NYC Daily Post. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • New York
  • Politics
  • U.S.
    • Education
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
    • Music
  • Tech
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Food
  • Sports
  • Science

© 2021. The NYC Daily Post. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: