Animals Recognized as Legal Persons for the First Time in U.S. Court
An international fight to protect Pablo Escobar’s hippos from slaughter results in a U.S. federal court order recognizing animals can be “interested persons”
Ariel Flint
Staff Attorney – Animal Legal Defense Fund
As a Staff Attorney, Ariel works to develop groundbreaking legal strategies to improve the status and lives of animals through the legal system.
Ariel previously served as an Animal Legal Defense Fund litigation fellow, and as an associate attorney for an international law firm in New York. He earned a BA in Government from IDC Herzliya and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Luis Domingo Gómez Maldonado
Attorney – Professor of Animal Law at Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano de Bogotá
Filed lawsuit in Colombia on behalf of the hippos who are descendants of animals imported by Pablo Escobar.

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Ariel Flint
Senior Staff Attorney
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Ariel Flint
Senior Staff Attorney
