![Sample our Law journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5942/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Law.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Animal protection is a global concern. As such, it calls for global actions. In order to get the big picture and to give proper answers in international law, the time has come to consider animal protection from a truly global perspective. To date, no comprehensive protection of non-human animals exists in international law. To fill this gap, a global approach to animal protection is needed. Why and how? This article will explore these questions, making concrete proposals, such as the adoption of a global convention and the creation of a UN-specific institution for protecting all categories of animals worldwide.
Notes
1 Edward N. Eadie, Understanding Animal Welfare: An Integrated Approach 87 (2012).
2 See Gary L. Francione, Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation (2008).
3 Thomas G. Kelch, CITES, Globalization, and the Future of Animal Law, in What Can Animal Law Learn from Environmental Law? 269, 291 (Randall S. Abate ed., 2015).
4 See, e.g., David S. Favre, An International Treaty for Animal Welfare, 18 Animal L. 237, 237 (2012) (stating that “[c]urrently there is no international agreement that ensures the welfare and protection of animals”); Basic Legal Documents on International Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation 1 (Mark Austen & Tamara Richards eds., 2000) (stating that “there is a distinct absence in international law for the protection of animals from cruelty and mistreatment”); Laura Nielsen, The WTO, Animals and PPM 325 (2007) (stating that “animal welfare protection is not laid down in any international agreements”); Jordan Curnutt, Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook 15 (2001) (stating that “a comprehensive treatise on global animal law has not yet been written”).
5 This approach is also partial, rather than comprehensive, and specific, rather than holistic.
6 See, generally, Sabine Brels, The Evolution of International Animal Law: From Wildlife Conservation to Animal Welfare, in What Can Animal Law Learn from Environmental Law?, supra note 3, at 365.
7 Michael Bowman, Peter Davies, & Catherine Redgwell, Lyster's International Wildlife Law 698 (2001).
8 See, generally, Joyce Tischler & Bruce Myers, Animal Protection and Environmentalism: The Time Has Come to Be More Than Just Friends, in What Can Animal Law Learn from Environmental Law? 387 (Randall S. Abate ed., 2015).
9 See, generally, the Global Animal Law (GAL) project, online at www.globalanimallaw.org.
10 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, December 2, 1946, 62 Stat. 1716, 161 U.N.T.S. 72. At the time of its adoption, the convention's objective was less to protect whales than to “sustain exploitation” by better managing the so-called whale stocks. See id. at Section f, Preamble. After excessive depletion of whales, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) decided to adopt a moratorium against commercial hunting in 1982.
11 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), March 3, 1973, 27 U.S.T. 1087 [hereinafter CITES].
12 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), June 23, 1979, 19 I.L.M. 15, 1651 U.N.T.S. 28.
13 J. Cherfas, What Price Whales?, New Scientist, June 5, 1986, at 5.
14 In 1996, the proposal did not obtain the required majority at the International Whaling Commission.
15 See K. Hirata, Why Japan Supports Whaling, 8 J. Int'l Wildlife Law & Pol'y 129–49 (2005); V. Papastavrou & P. Ramage, Commercial Whaling by Another Name. The Illegality of Japan's Scientific Whaling: Response to Dan Goodman, 13 J. Int'l Wildlife L. & Pol'y 183–87 (2010).
16 See Whaling in the Antarctic (Austl. v. Japan: N.Z. intervening), Judgment (March 31, 2014), available at http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/148/18136.pdf.
17 Id.
18 Conservation of and Trade in Bears, Resolution Conf. 10.8 (Rev. CoP14), https://www.cites.org/eng/res/10/10-08R14.php.
19 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Conservation of Migratory Sharks, art. 13(h) (on shark finning), February 12, 2010.
20 CITES art. VIII(3).
21 See J. Hutton & D. Barnabas, Endangered Species, Threatened Convention: The Past, Present and Future of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (2000).
22 See S. R. Harrop, The Dynamics of Wild Animal Welfare Law, 9 J. Envtl. L. 287–302 (1997).
23 Action Plan 34 on Whale Killing Methods, Point 9, Appendix 8, Report of the Workshop on Whale Killing Methods, IWC/51/12, 1999.
24 The documentary film The Cove, directed by Louis Psihoyos in 2010, helped to raise international awareness regarding this barbaric practice.
25 P. Brakes & S. Fisher, Hunted Dead or Still Alive—A Report on the Cruelty of Whaling (2003).
26 S. R. Harrop, From Cartel to Conservation and on to Compassion: Animal Welfare and the International Whaling Commission, J. Int'l Wildlife L. & Pol'y 79, 102 (2003).
27 World Organisation for Animal Health, The 188 OIE Members, www.oie.int/index.php?L=3&id=103 (last visited February 2, 2017).
28 In May 2003, the Office International des Epizooties became the World Organisation for Animal Health, but it kept its historical acronym OIE. See World Organisation for Animal Health, About Us, www.oie.int/about-us/ (last visited February 3, 2017).
29 See the GAL project Database at international level online: https://www.globalanimallaw.org/database/international.html.
30 See World Organisation for Animal Health, OIE's Achievements in Animal Welfare, http://www.oie.int/en/animal-welfare/animal-welfare-key-themes/ (last visited February 1, 2017).
31 For example, the OIE has had a collaboration agreement with the WTO since 1998. See Agreement Between the World Trade Organization and the Office International des Epizooties, WT/L/272, 8 July 1998.
32 United States—Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products, Recourse to Art. 21.5 of the DSU by Malaysia, WT/DS58/AB/RW, 22 October 2001.
33 It is worth noting that the previous Tuna-Dolphin case did not result in any substantial contribution in favor of animal protection. On the contrary, the 1991 and 1994 decisions were more protective of the commercial interests of the affected countries than they were of the welfare of dolphins. The United States contested the cruel tuna fishing method involving launching nets on the dolphins swimming above the tuna, which kills and injures dolphins in order to catch tuna. See United States—Restrictions on Imports of Tuna, BISD 39S/155, 3 September 1991; see also United States—Restrictions on Imports of Tuna, DS 29/R, 16 June 1994.
34 WTO, European Communities—Measures Prohibiting the Importation and Marketing of Seal Products, Panel Reports, WT/DS400/R–WT/DS401/R, 25 November 2013.
35 Id. § 7.632.
36 Id. § 7.505. See in particular the conclusions under Art. 2.1 on the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). The later decision of the Appellate Body considered that the EU ban aiming to protect seals was not a technical measure, therefore cancelling the statements made under the TBT Agreement as irrelevant.
37 Id. § 7.639.
38 See Summary of Key Findings, European Communities—Measures Prohibiting the Importation and Marketing of Seal Products, WT/DS400/AB/R-WT/DS401/AB/R, 22 May 2014.
39 See Whaling in the Antarctic (Austl. v. Japan: N.Z. intervening), Judgment (March 31, 2014), available at http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/148/18136.pdf.
40 Id.
41 See, e.g., Oscar Horta, Expanding Global Justice: The Case for the International Protection of Animals, 4 Glob. Pol'y 371 (2013).
42 Animals and the Environment: Advocacy, Activism, and the Quest for Common Ground 53 (Lisa Kemmerer ed., 2015).
43 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, A Buddhist Concept of Nature (Transcript of Address in New Delhi, India on February 4, 1992), http://www.dalailama.com/messages/environment/buddhist-concept-of-nature.
44 Geoff Haselhurst & Karene Howie, Introduction to Metaphysics of Tao, Taoism Religion, On Truth & Reality (January 2005), http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Taoism-Tao.htm.
45 For instance, in 1670 Leibniz said, “Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another.” Gottfried Leibniz, Monadology (1670).
46 Thomas Merton, Final Address, Conference on East-West Monastic Dialogue (December 10, 1968). Similarly, Albert Einstein stated, “Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature … . We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.” Animal Rights Online, http://www.all-creatures.org/aro/q-einstein-albert.html (last visited February 22, 2017).
47 Paul Taylor, Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics (1986); see also SAGE, Green Ethics and Philosophy: An A-to-Z Guide 27 (Julie Newman ed., 2011) (this principle is one of the the four core principles of Biocentric Egalitarianism).
48 Earth Charter Commission, The Earth Charter, Initiative I(1) (2000) (asserting that “all beings are interdependent and every form of life has value regardless of its worth to human beings”).
49 The full quote reads, “The indigenous understanding has its basis of spirituality in a recognition of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living things, a holistic and balanced view of the world. All things are bound together. All things connect. What happens to the Earth happens to the children of the earth. Humankind has not woven the web of life; we are but one thread. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” Rebecca Adamson, First Nations and the Future of the Earth, Earth Light 40 (2001), reprinted at https://www.earthlight.org/essay40_adamson.html.
50 Henning Steinfeld et al., Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options (2006), available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM.
51 Livestock a Major Threat to Environment, FAO Newsroom, November 29, 2006, http://www.fao.org/Newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html.
52 See Bruce A. Wagman & Matthew Liebman, A Worldview of Animal Law 61 (2011).
53 Steinfeld et al., supra note 50, at xxi–xxiii.
54 Id. at 190.
55 Id. at 272.
56 Id.
57 “Livestock's land-use includes grazing land and cropland dedicated to the production of feedcrops and fodder.” Id. at 270.
58 Id. at 267.
59 Id. at xx (asserting that meat production is expected to increase to 465 million tonnes by 2050, and that of milk to 1,043 million tonnes).
60 For example, diabetes, heart attacks, colorectal cancers, osteoporosis, and obesity.
61 See Steinfeld et al., supra note 50.
62 Livestock a Major Threat to Environment, FAONewsroom (November 29, 2006), http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/News/2006/1000448/index.html.
63 Steinfeld et al., supra note 50, at xxii (“The livestock sector is a key player in increasing water use … mostly for the irrigation of feedcrops”).
64 Id. at xxii.
65 Eric Holt-Giménez, We Already Grow Enough Food for 10 Billion People… and Still Can't End Hunger, Common Dreams (May 8, 2012), http://www.commondreams.org/views/2012/05/08/we-already-grow-enough-food-10-billion-people-and-still-cant-end-hunger.
66 Id.
67 G. Tyler Miller & Scott Spoolman, Living in the Environment: Concepts, Connections, and Solutions 311 (16th ed. 2009) (quoting Albert Einstein).
68 UNEP, Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production Priority Products and Materials 79 (2010), available at http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/portals/24102/pdfs/priorityproductsandmaterials_report.pdf.
69 Felicity Carus, UN Urges Global Move to Meat and Dairy-Free Diet, The Guardian (June 2, 2010), http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet.
70 Khushbu Shah, UN Says Veganism Can Save the World From Destruction, Eater (February 16, 2015), http://www.eater.com/2015/2/16/8048069/un-says-veganism-can-save-the-world-from-destruction.
71 Description of Talia Raphaely & Dora Marinova, Impact of Meat Consumption on Health and Environmental Sustainability (2015), available at http://www.igi-global.com/book/impact-meat-consumption-health-environmental/134810.
72 Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (A.U.M. Films & First Spark Media 2014).
73 Janice Cox, Climate Change: Will the Elephant Come Out of the Closet in Paris?, WAN (October 29, 2015), http://worldanimal.net/world-animal-net-blog/item/386-climate-change-will-the-elephant-come-out-of-the-closet-in-paris.
74 Sushmi Dey, Vegetarians Lead a Healthier Life Than Meat-Eaters: Oxford Study, TNN (December 18, 2015, 4:42 AM), http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Vegetarians-lead-a-healthier-life-than-meat-eaters-Oxford-study/articleshow/50226456.cms.
75 Kashmira Gander, Vegetarian and Vegan Diets Could Save Millions of Lives and Cut Global Warming, Study Finds, The Independent (March 22, 2016), http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/vegetarian-diet-could-prevent-millions-of-deaths-by-2050-study-finds-a6945691.html.
76 “The statistics used are based on the best information available.” Cowspiracy, supra note 73, at Directors' Note.
77 For further discussion of this topic, see David S. Favre, Movement Toward an International Convention for the Protection of Animals, in Animal Welfare and the Law 247–69 (D. E. Blackman et. al. eds., 1989), and David S. Favre, An International Treaty for Animal Welfare, 18 Animal L. 237 (2012).
78 See, e.g., Basic Legal Documents on International Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation 1 (Mark Austen & Tamara Richards eds., 2000) (“There is a distinct absence in international law for the protection of animals from cruelty and mistreatment.”); Laura Nielsen, The WTO, Animals and PPMs 325 (2007) (“Animal welfare protection is not laid down in any international agreements.”); Jordan Curnutt, Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook 15 (2001) (“A comprehensive treatise on global animal law has not yet been written”).
79 Favre, An International Treaty for Animal Welfare, supra note 4, at 237.
80 Id. at 247–69.
81 World Charter for Nature, G.A. Res. 37/7, ¶ 2, U.N. Doc. A/RES/37/7 (October 28, 1982).
82 Earth Charter Initiative, The Earth Charter, Principle 15 (2000), http://earthcharter.org/discover/the-earth-charter.
83 Charter of the United Nations, art. 1 (1945).
84 Personal interview with Janice Cox, co-founder of the World Animal Net (WAN) online at: https://www.globalanimallaw.org/interviews/janice-cox.html.
85 See Gennady M. Danilenko, Law Making in the International Community (1993).
86 See Basic Legal Documents on International Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation, supra note 4; see also Alexandre C. Kiss, Les Traités-Cadre: Une Technique Juridique Caractéristique du Droit International de l'Environnement, 39 Annuaire Français de Droit Int'l 792, 792–797 (1993).
87 See Multilateral Treaty-making (Vera Gowlland-Debbas et al. eds., 2000).
88 However, this protection is generally limited to companion animals and is very restricted for others, thus allowing the worst to happen to most animals used and abused for economic, cultural, traditional, scientific, or aesthetic interests.
89 See the Animal Welfare Legislation Database (AWLD), realized by the author for the Global Animal Law Project, with the national, European, international and universal levels, online at: https://www.globalanimallaw.org/database/index.html (last updated 1st March 2017)”
90 This constitutes the above-mentionned Database (AWLD), online at: https://www.globalanimallaw.org/database/national/index.html.
91 Some elements can vary, such as the nature of the obligations towards animals (positive or negative), the protected animals (only domestics or wild; only vertebrates or some invertebrates), and the degree of protection through sanctions (fines or fines and prison).
92 Cf. René David. & John E. C. Brierley, Major Legal Systems in the World Today: An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Law (2d ed. 1978).
93 This paragraph is part of the author's doctorate thesis development. Abstract published online at: https://ojs.abo.fi/ojs/index.php/gjal/article/view/1463.
94 Even developing countries such as China, Egypt, Honduras, Mexico, and Russia are preparing animal protection laws. See Neil Trent et al., International Animal Law, with a Concentration on Latin America, Asia, and Africa, in The State of the Animals III 66 (Deborah J. Salem & Andrew N. Rowan eds., 2005).
95 See Michael Bowman et al., Animal Welfare—The Way Ahead, in Lyster's International Wildlife Law, supra note 7, at 698.
96 More than 330 animal welfare groups and 46 supportive governments—including Cambodia, Panama, Fiji, New Zealand, Palau, the Seychelles, Switzerland, and the 28 European Union member states, are supporting the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. See World Animal Protection, Back a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, http://www.worldanimalprotection.org/take-action/back-universal-declaration-animal-welfare (last visited May 30, 2016).
97 “Almost no one is in favor of the cruelty and suffering of animals.” David S. Favre, Movement Toward an International Convention for the Protection of Animals, in Animal Welfare and the Law, supra note 78, at 251.
98 See, e.g., Jessica Vapnek & Megan Chapman, Legislative and Regulatory Options for Animal Welfare (2010), http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1907e/i1907e01.pdf.
99 FAO-OIE-WHO, The FAO-OIE-WHO Collaboration, Sharing Responsibilities and Coordinating Global Activities to Address Health Risks at the Animal-Human-Ecosystems Interfaces (2010), http://www.who.int/influenza/resources/documents/tripartite_concept_note_hanoi_042011_en.pdf.
100 For information on recent CBD goals, see Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the Aichi Targets: “Living in Harmony with Nature,” https://www.cbd.int/doc/strategic-plan/2011-2020/Aichi-Targets-EN.pdf.
101 See Brels, supra note 6, at 363.
102 See United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Sustainable Development, http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/sustainable.shtml (last visited February 3, 2017).
103 See Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 43 (1987), http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf (the Report of the Brundtland Commission, setting forth the “The Concept of Sustainable Development,” defined as “development … that … meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”).
104 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Braz., 3–4 June 1992, Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. I) (August 12, 1992).
105 U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, Rep. on the 18th Sess., May 15, 2009, May 3–14, 2010, Chair's Summary, U.N. Doc. E/CN.17/2010/15 (2010).
106 See U.N. Committee on World Food Security, 41st Sess., October 13–18, 2014, Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, ¶ 28, U.N. Doc. CFS 2014/41/4 Rev.1 (2014). Forty-third Session UN Committee on World Food Security, “Making a Difference in Food Security and Nutrition”, Rome, Italy, 17–21 October 2016, http://www.fao.org/3/a-ms023e.pdf.
107 See the author proposal in the GAL Project Matrix. GAL Project, Matrix: A New Concept: Develop a UN Policy Against Urgent Global Issues Involving Animals, https://www.globalanimallaw.org/matrix/universal/enforcement/visionary/ (last visited February 3, 2017).
108 See A. C. D. Bayvel et al., Animal Welfare, Global Issues, Trends, and Challenges (2005).
109 See Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, supra note 105 (mentioning the current “moral obligation to other living beings and future generations”).
110 See the author proposal in the GAL Project Matrix. GAL Project, Matrix: A New Concept: Create a UN Specific Institution on Animal Protection, https://www.globalanimallaw.org/matrix/universal/enforcement/modern/ (last visited February 3, 2017).
111 David S. Favre, Movement Toward an International Convention for the Protection of Animals, supra note 78, at 247–69.
112 See World Organisation for Animal Health, Animal Welfare at a Glance, http://www.oie.int/en/animal-welfare/animal-welfare-at-a-glance/ (last visited February 3, 2017).
113 See the GAL “Matrix” and “Who We Are” at GAL Project, www.globalanimallaw.org.