Life in the circus might often seem like a glamorous one for human performers. But for circus elephants — who campaigners say undergo brutal training and spend much of their life in chains — it can be anything but. Nor, obviously, can elephants choose to leave their show business profession. Yet this may be about to change, as one mystery elephant prepares to make legal history by challenging its captivity in an American courtroom. The elephant’s identity is currently secret until the court papers are filed, to avoid tipping off the animal’s owners. But lawyers at the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) have already lined up a sanctuary to take the elephant if the ruling goes their way. In order to prevail, however, the NhRP has to convince a judge that this elephant is not a thing lacking legal standing but a person with the capacity for at least some of the basic rights typically reserved for humans — namely bodily liberty. If successful, the case could radically alter the legal status of some animals. Even if unsuccessful, it is likely to trigger a debate over just exactly how “personhood” is legally defined and whether or not it should be reserved for human beings. When human beings are being held against their will, they have the right to petition a court for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the legality of their captivity. The NhRP’s goal is to extend the same habeas corpus protections to at least some captive animals by having the courts recognize their legal personhood. According to the NhRP’s founder, Steven Wise, when he began this work 30 years ago, people would react with disbelief at suggestions that animals could be anything other than property. But today, as more and more species are being listed as endangered and awareness grows about the suffering captive animals are subjected to, Wise believes that gaining personhood rights for at least some highly intelligent species or closely related ones like chimpanzees is not just attainable but inevitable.

Circus elephant Asia gets accustomed to her new surroundings during setup on Thursday, March 19, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press/AP

As things stand, circus elephants and other captive wild animals are afforded basic protections under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which requires owners to provide adequate nutrition, medical care and housing that is large enough for the animal to stand up and turn around. Campaigners say this offers scant comfort to elephants, who in the wild live in cohesive family groups, form deep social bonds and walk up to 40 miles a day. Activists also say violations are frequent and enforcement is weak. “It can take years before a suspected abuse case is investigated,” said Nicole Paquette of the Humane Society. “Typically what happens is that the owners will be cited and fined, and then it’s business as usual.” In 2009, an undercover investigation by PETA showed Ringling Bros. trainers repeatedly striking their elephants across their faces, trunks and legs with bull hooks and whips. In 2011, Feld Entertainment, Inc., which produces Ringling Bros. circuses, was fined $270,000 for AWA violations dating back to 2007. Last month, the self-anointed “Greatest Show on Earth” announced that it would be phasing out elephant acts, citing a “mood shift” among fans. In its statement, the company noted that by 2018 all of its elephants will be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida, where efforts to save the species from extinction will continue. But the move is not likely to stop those asking for elephant personhood. “So much of what animals suffer relates to their being regarded as property,” says Ed Stewart, the co-founder of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California, which provides refuge for several retired and neglected elephants.

‘So much of what animals suffer relates to their being regarded as property.’ Ed Stewart co-founder, Performing Animal Welfare Society

A chimpanzee stands by a Christmas tree before he opens presents during the ‘Christmas with the Chimps’ event at Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 18, 2014. Rhona Wise/EPA