A judge in the US declares that Pablo Escobar's hippos can be considered as people

By John Seewer -

The descendants of the hippos of Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar have been legally recognized as "interested persons" with rights in the United States, as ordered by a federal court.

The case involves a lawsuit against the Colombian government, which is debating whether to kill or sterilize the pachyderms, whose numbers are growing at an alarming rate and represent a danger to biodiversity, experts say.

An animal rights group in San Francisco, California, is celebrating the ruling as a crucial victory in their long fight to get animals recognized as people in America's court system.

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However,

, where these animals live, said a legal expert.

"The ruling has no impact on Colombia because it only has an impact within their own territories. It will be the Colombian authorities who decide what should be done with the hippos and not the American ones," said Camilo Burbano Cifuentes, a professor of criminal law. at the Externado de Colombia University.

Hippos swim in the lake at the Hacienda Napoles theme park, in this Feb. 4, 2021 photo.Fernando Vergara / AP

'The cocaine hippos', as these animals are nicknamed,

when he was the king of drugs in the country.

After their death in a shootout with authorities in 1993, the hippos were abandoned on the ranch, without any natural predator to help control their numbers.

From three females and one male in the 1980s, about 35 hippos were made by the beginning of the last decade.

Now it is estimated that there are between 65 and 80, and it is believed that there could be more than 1,400 in 2030.

A group of scientists has warned that hippos pose a serious risk to the area's biodiversity

.

Some recommend that they euthanize them, while the government has already begun sterilizing them, although there is a debate about which are the safest methods.

In the lawsuit, lawyers for the

(the Animal Legal Defense Fund) will

They asked the District Court in Cincinnati to grant the status of "interested persons" to the hippos, so that two experts in sterilization of wildlife from Ohio can be called to testify in the case.

Cincinnati federal magistrate Karen Litkovitz granted the request on October 15.

According to the defense group, this

The lawyers argued that if it is possible for defenders to sue to defend their interests in Colombia, then the hippos should be allowed to be considered "interested persons" under US law.

Controversy in Colombia over the fate of the hippos of drug lord Pablo Escobar

Feb. 7, 202101: 58

They pointed to a federal statute that allows any "interested person" in a lawsuit abroad to ask a federal court to allow them to call witnesses and present evidence in the United States to support their case.

Christopher Berry, the lead attorney for the

, called it

“This really is part of a larger movement to make sure the interests of animals are represented in court.

We are not asking for a new law to be invented.

We are only asking that animals have the ability to enforce the rights that have already been granted to them. "

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

A Connecticut judge called a petition filed four years ago by a group of activists granting personhood to three elephants at a traveling zoo as "totally frivolous."

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

Previous rulings dismissed the claims of animal advocates.

and has called the efforts "ridiculous."

Groups in favor of the right to bear arms have also criticized the measure for fear that it could affect hunting or set a precedent.

While supporters point to court rulings that have granted legal rights to corporations and consider them legal persons, with the reasoning that animals should be treated the same under the law.

"Legal personality is simply the ability to have your interest heard and represented in court," Berry said.

"It's about enforcing the rights they already have under animal cruelty laws and other protection laws," he added.