Michigan Supreme Court asked to consider chimps held at U.P. zoo as persons

Max Reinhart, The Detroit News on Dec 4, 2025

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A Washington D.C.-based nonprofit is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to consider a lawsuit that seeks to remove seven chimpanzees from an Upper Peninsula zoo and to legally recognize the primates as persons.

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) filed the request Dec. 1, urging the state's high court to reverse an appellate decision affirming a 2023 trial court ruling that the chimps at the DeYoung Family Zoo do not have the right to liberty under the state's habeas corpus laws, which deal with detention or imprisonment.

"It is simply impossible for chimpanzees to live a normal life appropriate for their species at a roadside zoo," NhRP said in the filing.

The zoo, located in Wallace, Michigan, near the Wisconsin state line in southern Menominee County, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

NhRP said several renowned experts in chimpanzee cognition and behavior have submitted statements in support of the organization's case. It says the case is the first of its kind in the state of Michigan. The organization has long sought legal personhood status for intelligent animals including elephants and chimps.

In legal filings, NhRP refers to the captive chimps in Michigan as the "DeYoung Prisoners." The organization alleges there's no way the DeYoung Family Zoo can properly care for the animals.

"For instance, chimpanzees need access to fresh air and sunshine all year, but during the winter months in Wallace, Michigan, the DeYoung Prisoners must remain inside due to the apparent lack of sheltered outdoor space," the Michigan Supreme Court filing states. "Keeping chimpanzees indoors for many months every year is extremely harmful to their physical and psychological well-being. So, too, is holding chimpanzees in isolation: Louie (one of the DeYoung chimps) has essentially lived alone for more than half his life, if not his entire life."

The zoo keeps its animals in a "natural setting" with "large habitats," according to its website. On Facebook, the zoo says it's focused on animal conservation, education, rescue, rehabilitation and family fun.

Animals at the site include big cats, hippopotamuses, bears, camels, giraffes, otters, sloths, capybaras, kangaroos, coyotes, dingoes and deer, as well as barnyard animals, according to the zoo. For a fee, visitors can feed some of the animals or book a "private critter encounter" to meet animals up close.

NhRP is asking for the case to be sent back to the trial court. Ultimately, the group is seeking the chimpanzees' release from the DeYoung Family Zoo to an accredited sanctuary.

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