A request to release five elephants from a Colorado zoo has been denied after a court ruled the elephants are not people.

The animal rights group argued that Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo were effectively being held in captivity at the zoo and had applied to have them moved to an elephant sanctuary.

It seeks to file a habeas corpus claim on behalf of the animals - a legal process that allows people to challenge their detention in court.

The Colorado Supreme Court said the matter came down to "whether an elephant is a person" and therefore has the same freedom rights as humans - ultimately ruling that elephants do not have the freedom rights of humans.

In a 6-0 decision, it upheld an earlier district court ruling that said the state's habeas corpus proceedings "applicable only to persons and not to nonhuman animals."

That's true "no matter how cognitively, psychologically or socially mature they are," state Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter added in her ruling. ruling.

While she said the five older African elephants were "majestic", the court ruled the claim could not be brought "because elephants are not people".

The Non-Human Rights Project (NRP) is requesting that the elephants be moved from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a "suitable elephant sanctuary" in 2023.

The organization believes these animals have a right to be free because they are emotionally complex and intelligent animals.

It claimed the elephants showed signs of "trauma, brain damage and chronic stress" and that they were effectively "captive" in zoos.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo rejected that claim, arguing the elephants received extraordinary care, and the district court upheld the claim.

Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo called NRP's lawsuit "frivolous" and said time and money had been "wasted" on the case.

It accuses the group of "abusing the court system to raise funds" and claims its goal is to "manipulate people to donate to its cause by constantly publicizing sensational court cases and continually calling on supporters to donate."

The NRP said the decision "perpetuates a clear injustice and demonstrates that individuals have no right to liberty unless they are human beings".

"Like other social justice movements, we anticipate early losses as we challenge the entrenched status quo that leaves Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo with lifelong mental and physical consequences," the group said in a statement. " statement.

The NRP previously tried to release an elephant named Happy from New York's Bronx Zoo, but was rejected after a court ruled she had no legal personality.