Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' can be recognised as people, a court in the US has ruled

Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos'  are descendants of the hippos owned by the infamous Colombian drug lord, and a Cincinnati federal court order has granted them legal rights, as they are "interested persons".

The case involves a lawsuit against the Colombian government over whether to kill or sterilise the hippos, which are growing in population and pose a threat to the environment in Colombia.

Animal rights groups have hailed the order as a milestone moment, but a legal expert has warned that it will not carry any weight in the South American country.

Camilo Burbano Cifuentes, a criminal law professor at the Universidad Externado de Colombia, said: "The ruling has no impact in Colombia, because they only have an impact within their own territories. It will be the Colombian authorities who decide what to do with the hippos and not the American ones."

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