states have legislation for courts to be able to peel back the property curtain and to consider the best interest of the companion animal during a divorce, along the lines of what occurs with human children. Without question, animal sentience laws are an access to justice win for animalkind.īack in North America, several U.S. For a discussion on the importance of animal sentience laws, please see: Recognizing animals in Canada as sentient. Animal Welfare (sentience) bill is in the works to becoming law. Several EU states, including France, Austria and Switzerland, consider animals to be sentient beings and a U.K. While it’s not all good news for all animals in Spain as the new laws do not appear to address the bloodsport and cruelty that is bullfighting, and it’s also unclear whether the new laws will help millions of farmed animals, it is gratifying to see animal sentience laws catching on. The court was able to review Panda’s welfare, emotional bonds between Panda and the parties. The argument in Panda’s case utilized the 1987 European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, ratified in 2017, to underlie the argument that animals are not mere property. This is helpful for an animal’s intrinsic welfare as a living being. The Madrid court ruled that Panda would have “co-caretakers,” closer to guardians, rather than employing words connoting property like “co-owner.” Both parties were held “jointly responsible” for Panda the border collie and would share Panda one month on and off. The court looked beyond who bought the animal or paid for their adoption fee. In October 2021, a Madrid judge awarded joint pet custody for Panda the dog to an unmarried couple after examining all the issues, not just applying a basic ownership test for awarding custody. In the case of cruelty, that individual will likely be refused custody. Owners must “guarantee” that their pet’s welfare will be paramount.
Spain animal sentience code#
The new animal welfare rules amend civil procedure laws, the country’s civil code and mortgage legislation. An animal’s best interests should be considered when determining who should look after the family cat, dog or bird. In Spain, a judge is to look at the family pet just as they would for other family members in “pet custody” disputes. Specifically, dogs, cats and other companion animals are now classified as “living beings” who are “endowed with sensitivity” rather than being deemed mere property under the law.
In other words, animals are recognized as being more than property, as having the capacity to be someone instead of something. Essentially, pets in Spain are now rightly no longer classified as objects, but as sentient beings who can express emotions and feelings. Alongside all of that, divorce is also continuing to rise.Īt nearly the exact same time as the Pope was expounding his controversial opinion about companion animals, new animal welfare laws were enacted in Spain (a heavily Catholic country), establishing pets as basically family members at law. Human birthrates are down in many countries, as people are having fewer two-legged kids, and pet adoptions continue to soar. The Pope’s words, which understandably caused a huge backlash, are not the focus of this article, because the facts are clear about companion animals and humans. So in January 2022 when I read headlines like Pope Francis says choosing pets over kids is selfish I was astonished. Societal pressure is forcing law to catch up and enact animal sentience laws. Globally, there is a movement working toward actualizing animals, especially companion animals, as sentient beings.
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