US judge: Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos legally ‘people’

By JOHN SEEWER
Associated Press

A U.S. court order says the offspring of hippos once owned by Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar can be recognized as people with legal rights in the U.S. The case involves a lawsuit against the Colombian government over whether to kill or sterilize the hippos whose numbers are growing at a fast pace. An animal rights group is hailing the order as a milestone victory in the long sought effort to sway the U.S. justice system to grant animals personhood status. But a legal expert in Colombia says the order won’t carry any weight where the hippos live.