Animals Are not Objects but Are not Yet Subjects: Developments in the Proprietary Status of Animals

Abstract

De-objectification of animals is becoming a more accepted term when discussing the legal status of animals. The idea of deobjectification has been recognized within the legal systems of various countries; these laws establish that animals are not objects, but sentient beings. This Article seeks to analyze the various realizations of de-objectification, establishing that it constitutes a more advanced stage of animal protection. The discussion surrounding de-objectification should be understood as part of the tension between the animal welfare approach and a more radical position striving for animal rights recognition. Although de-objectification does not intend to abolish animal ownership, it shifts the paradigm of animal treatment from a welfarism of rules and prohibitions to one of principles. The importance of de-objectification is not only rhetorical, and although de-objectification does not necessary imply a revolution in animal law, it aims to produce a gradual change in the boundaries of the proprietary status of animals. The Article goes beyond the debate about de-objectification and deals with the idea of recognizing animals as legal persons. Accordingly, comparison between animals and corporations, artificial intelligence or natural resources is carried out. The Article certainly supports the process of de-objectification of animals, but it is rather skeptical regarding personification. Since de-objectification is in the first stages of its legal recognition around the world, it is hard to point out univocal conclusions. Nevertheless, even if there are not clear cut answers to all the quandaries, the analysis of de-objectification is an important part of the debate about the relationship between human and not-human animals.

The clean version of the article has been published in 18 ANIMAL and NATURAL RESOURCE LAW REVIEW - Michigan State University (2022)

Keywords: animal law, property, legal personality, comparative law

JEL Classification: K10, K11