Animal law
Dispute over killing: Pablo Escobar’s hippos recognized as legal entities
One of the descendants of Pablo Escobars hippopotamus at the “Hacienda Nápoles” in Colombia
© Luis Bernardo Cano / Picture Alliance
The late drug lord Pablo Escobar left an entire private zoo in Colombia after his death. His hippos become a problem there and spark a legal battle over a possible killing.
When the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar dies in the 1990s, he leaves behind his own private zoo. Almost all animals are sold, only the hippos are allowed to stay. However, since these are constantly reproducing, they are now becoming a problem in Colombia. While some are calling for the animals to be shot, animal rights activists advocate the preservation of the hippos – and they are successful.
Hippos harm the ecosystem
The largest herd of hippos outside of Africa lives in Colombia. And these have an unusual origin: They are descended from hippos that belonged to the former drug lord Pablo Escobar. After his death, Escobar left a private zoo in which he kept zebras, giraffes and kangaroos, among other things. Almost all animals on his farm “Hacienda Napoles” were sold at that time, only the hippos were allowed to stay.
The problem: the hippos reproduce too quickly. The herd now has around 100 animals. Since they are considered an invasive species in Colombia, they harm the local ecosystem. Attacks on fishermen are also said to have already taken place. To counteract the uncontrolled reproduction of the animals, 24 of the animals have already been sterilized. But it is also discussed again and again to release the entire herd for shooting.
US court reaches landmark decision
In order to prevent the killing of the animals, on the other hand, animal rights activists campaign for the hippopotamus herd. For example, the American animal welfare organization Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), which is committed to the legal representation of animals. Now the animal rights activists are successful. With the descendants of Pablo Escobar’s hippos, a district court in the US state of Ohio has now recognized animals as legal entities for the first time. The decision “will help the hippos in their process not to die,” said ALDF’s Christopher Berry.
Why is a US federal court allowed to represent animals in Colombia? The US has a law that allows US courts to represent “interested parties” in foreign litigation. The “community of hippos in the Magdalena River” has now been granted this status of “interested persons”. The animal rights activists are now working to ensure that two experts on the sterilization of wild animals are allowed to testify in front of the court in order to support the hippos in the process. “In a broader sense, this is the first concrete example of a US court allowing animals to exercise a right on their own behalf,” explains Berry.