David Ebert
I’m a retired lawyer and founded Weeping Elephant Project in 2025 as a means of more fully devoting myself to reducing the suffering of captive elephants. WEP is a continuation and expansion of my work on behalf of captive elephants in the US over the past decade.
I’m also the Co-Founder, President Emeritus, and a former board member of Animal Defense Partnership, a 501c3 that provides legal services exclusively to animal protection nonprofits, entirely without charge. ADP , which we formed in 2016, now represents 400+ clients working in the US as well as US-based organizations advocating for change in other parts of the world. In 2024, my last full year with the organization, ADP provided $2.1 million in billable legal services to its clients, for free.
I’m a member of or advisor to: Pro Elephant Network; Voice for Asian Elephants Society; Physicians Association for Nutrition; Scarlet Spark; Free All Captive Elephants; The Asia for Animals Coalition/Capacity Building and Elephant Working Groups; Rowdy Girl Sanctuary’s Rancher Advocacy Program; TerraMar Research; and Global Animal Law Association.
I received my B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (1982) and my law degree from New York University School of Law (1986). I practiced law for 33 years, before retiring in 2019.
