My deepest condolences to Steve's family, colleagues and everyone at NhRP. It has been a true privilege to get to know Steve and work with him, always so inspiring, dedicated and supporting. This is a tremendous loss, and we will continue to work to carry on Steve's legacy and loving memory in the just struggle for animal liberation.

In the picture: Steve's fascinating keynote speech at a nonhuman personhood conference in Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law.

I am struggling for words, as I am sure many friends of Steve’s do.

He was a friend, a teacher, an inspiration and above all a marvelous human being with a gigantic heart.

I will miss him tremendously.

I learned of Steven’s work after I had become a docent at a local, accredited zoo. Although all the animals seemed well-cared for by the zookeepers, I started having reservations about keeping large, intelligent animals in captivity, initially fueled by the film “Blackfish” & hearing a friend’s story about protesting with PETA advocating for the elephants at the very zoo I was volunteering at. Finally, once I discovered NhRP, I could no longer abide great apes & elephants being held in captivity, regardless the circumstances. Reading and learning more about NhRP, of course I donated as best I could, but I truly wished I was a trained lawyer to have legal expertise to lend to Steven’s fight. But that bell was rung long ago.

At the same time as I was longing for some significant way to speak out for the cause, I took a solo playwriting course. I wanted to write something interesting but also meaningful & important and while brain-storming, I landed on the idea of writing a play about Happy’s struggles and the NhRP’s efforts to save her. Fortunately, I had a great educator/director and she helped me to craft my play “Prison Break”. My hope was to inspire people to think about Happy’s plight and help effect change. I performed it at Stageworks in Tampa and although the audience was small, it seemed well received and supposedly caused those present to reflect and ponder the morality around this critical issue.

Although writing my play was small in the scheme of things, I know Steven’s work greatly inspired & changed me. And not only me, Steven’s tireless, unending fight for animal justice and freedom enlisted brilliant lawyers and staff to join him in legally moving the needle forward. It is a legacy all can be proud of. My hope is that NhRP will thrive and these truly talented individuals will continue the good fight, actually changing legislation and animals’ lives for the better.

My deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues and all of the supporters of NhRP, like me. Kudos to Steven M. Wise who diligently represented his clients to the fullest extent of the law and beyond! 

A devastating more personal loss. Steve Wise was one in a million – founder of the Non-human Rights Project – a modest, soft-spoken man who was undaunted, persistent, dedicated to the cause he embraced! The animal rights movement is forever indebted to Steve for all that he did to raise consciousness, and move the needle forward for animal rights and toward a better understanding of the incredibly intelligent animals who linger and suffer under wretched conditions imposed on them by the ignorant, uncaring and greedy; by those who profit from the captivity and enslavement of these highly sensitive sentient beings who have been deprived of everything meaningful in their lives and important for their well-being.

I met Steve at the Hamptons Film Festival, as well, several years earlier, when in 2016, I presented my “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award to UNLOCKING THE CAGE. He was most gracious and humble, in joining the filmmakers, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, who directed this monumental documentary - https://hamptonsfilmfest.org/…. We remained in touch, and he promised to invite me to dinner, the next time he was in New York. And true to his word, a few months later we met for dinner at an UWS vegan restaurant for a memorable evening discussing the subject so close to our hearts. Not long after that I joined with a large group of animal advocates to hear him present his case for “personhood” in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court – Sadly, the“ 2017 decisions of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court…rejected the possibility of extending common law personhood to a chimpanzee on social contract grounds.”

This article https://www.cambridge.org/cor… “argues that extending the common law rights to liberty and bodily integrity to animals whose cognitive characteristics indicate an interest in self-determination is both morally correct and legally feasible, since this interest is what said common law rights exist to protect. Moreover, the arguments from reciprocity and community membership adopted by the New York Court fail to provide a philosophically sound basis for denying nonhuman rights, nor does conceptualising rights and duties in terms of social contract necessarily preclude nonhuman emancipation.”

And so the fight by the NhRP to free Happy the elephant, living in solitude at the Bronx Zoo, and all the others unjustly captured, imprisoned, exploited, goes on…But, there have been some victories in countries around the world – and while this may be slow, we all take heart in knowing that it is inexorable.

I love you Steve. You inspired me to see hope for justice and respect for all  animals. Hope hope hope. Thank you. I’ll miss you. I’m grateful that I personally witnessed you arguing in the Bronx court,   seeking freedom for Happy. 

You’ll always be in my heart with fond memories of developing my humanity for nonhuman rights. 

Always, Michelle Babian

What a huge, loving, and empathetic heart Steve had for the animals.  A movement was started, and it will continue because of Steve.   We miss you, Steve, our giant hero.  Thank you, Gail, for all the support you have given to this wonderful human being.  

Pat & Don Guter

I lost my husband on February 15th and am overwhelmed with sorrow. Steve was a nationally renowned animal rights attorney with followers throughout the world who revered him for his efforts to get rights for nonhuman animals. As his wife, I can say that there was hardly a moment when he wasn’t devoting himself to his work. There was no such thing as a vacation. And yet, like all of us, he was an imperfect human being. He sometimes lost his temper. He could be moody and say things that were unkind - which he would regret. But he was deeply loving. He was an extremely responsible husband, father, and stepfather and he tried to ensure the happiness and wellbeing of his family. Steve demonstrated that an imperfect person could be perfectly devoted to his work and his family.

I miss you my loved one. I wish we could still be together. Maybe we will be one day.

Gail

I am so very sorry for the profound loss of Steve. He was a brilliant man and devoted to his family and his organization helping animal have a better life .

May he rest in peace! 

Love, Mom 

Steven was a man with a huge heart. He was a friend. The animal rights community has lost a giant. His compassion for our fellow beings led him to be a champion and advocate for the voiceless in captivity. May he Rest in Peace. Out condolences to his family. 

John Kay and Jutta Maue Kay of the Maue Kay Foundation (www.mauekay.org)