Review article
https://doi.org/10.17234/SocEkol.27.1.4
Legal system for the protection of life, health and welfare of animals – bioethical approach within the legal framework
Tomislav Nedić
; Pravni fakultet, Sveučilište J.J. Strossmayera u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Abstract
Since ancient times, animals have been present in human lives and their role has been extremely important. In addition, the coexistence between humans and animals, as well as humans and the entire living world, has an enormous importance for the preservation of the natural balance of the biosphere. Consequently, the bioethical awareness of humans towards animals is growing, resulting in some interesting legal considerations, which in turn raise certain questions. The legal system for the protection of life, health and welfare of animals is the main precondition for a peaceful and undisturbed coexistence between humans and animals. This paper takes this view as its starting point and uses comparative law, historical, case law and analytical methods in order to present the entire legal system for the protection of life, health and welfare of animals in the Republic of Croatia, together with all its elements. The aim of the paper is to show whether animals are subjects or objects of the existing laws, whether they have any subjective rights or are treated as protected legal goods, how the legal sources regulate this issue in the Republic of Croatia, and whether they directly protect animals’ integrity. Based on the conducted research, the conclusion is that animals are considered to be legal objects (with a growing tendency within the practical and theoretical circles to change this status), guaranteed a direct protection of life, health and welfare as protected legal goods, through their own laws, principally the new Animal Protection Act and the animal cruelty provisions in the Criminal Code. Finding answers to these legal issues is a small but extremely important step in building a system of human solidarity towards animals in the form of a peaceful and undisturbed coexistence between humans and animals.
Keywords
bioethics; welfare; legal rights; life; animals
Hrčak ID:
199889
URI
Publication date:
3.5.2018.
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