A Colorado court rejected efforts to free five elephants using a legal process for human detainees, writing that it “boils down to whether an elephant is a person.”

On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that elephants do not have the same rights as humans after the Nonhuman Rights Project sued the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo over the conditions of its elephants.

Five elephants at a Colorado zoo may be “majestic” but do not have the legal right to pursue their release since they aren't human

Judges ruled a bid to free five elderly African elephants from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was based on a law that only applied to humans.

The high court rejected arguments that elephants qualify as “persons” under state law and suggested animal advocates turn to the legislative branch to expand legal rights.