Why One Lawyer Wants Elephants To Be Considered ‘Persons’

Tim Commerford leads his elephant Beulah and two customers at the Goshen Fair in Goshen, Connecticut, in August. Photo by Ben James for NEPR

Gene Cassidy spends a lot of time talking about animals. As president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts, his job is to promote the interests of New England farmers.

Cassidy performs his duty with such gusto that even when he’s talking about the controversial elephant rides at his two-week-long, mega-fair, he’s prone to making off-the-cuff comments about poultry.

“And what’s the best, most efficient delivery system for protein to the human body?” Cassidy said, before providing his own answer: a chicken egg. “A gift from God. That is production livestock.”

Steven Wise also spends his time talking about animals, but he doesn’t view them the way Cassidy does.

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