Ojai, California, is a quaint little mountain town known for art galleries, cool vibes and, thanks to the legal vision of the late Steven Wise, a unique regard for elephants.
Home to about 7,900 human residents, Ojai last fall became the first U.S. jurisdiction to formally recognize what its municipal code now enshrines as a “Right to Bodily Liberty for Elephants.”
Taking a page from Wise’s playbook, one he developed over decades as a groundbreaking animal rights advocate, the Ojai City Council last September voted 4-1 to adopt the elephant rights measure. It means, for instance, that an elephant that happens to find itself aggrieved in Ojai can obtain relief through a habeas corpus petition.
“This is Ojai being ahead of the curve,” Councilwoman Leslie Rule said during the debate, adding that “when you are a thing, you have no rights, [but] when you have rights, you can go to court and say these rights are not being upheld.”
