Animal Rights

Summary: This 2019 law is a secondary law that regulates the application of the constitutional mandate that the Mexico City government guarantees the fulfillment of the more than fifty fundamental rights established in the Constitution. This law addresses the issue of animal protection, specifically in Article 95. Article 95 states that animal protection shall be guaranteed in the broadest way to provide a livable city and seek people's fulfillment of the right to a healthy environment. Even though the focus of this article is human-centric and not the well-being of animals per se, it provides a list of eleven principles tailored around the protection of animals and their interests.

Summary: The Constitution, adopted in 2017, is the most recently enacted in the nation. It places a strong emphasis on human rights and also acknowledges animals as sentient beings. Specifically, Article 13(b) explicitly recognizes animals as sentient beings and mandates their dignified treatment. This article not only imposes a moral obligation, but also a legal duty to uphold the life and well-being of animals. Under this provision, authorities are tasked with ensuring the protection, well-being, and the dignified and respectful treatment of animals.

Summary: It serves as a comprehensive framework for treating and protecting bees, encompassing all activities related to this vital species, explicitly designating apiculture (or beekeeping) as a prioritized activity of public interest. The objectives of this law extend beyond the aforementioned points: 1) Recognizing Bees as Priority Species: The law aims to acknowledge bees as a species of paramount importance in biodiversity preservation, highlighting the need for their protection; 2) Promoting Education and Awareness: An essential aspect of this legislation is promoting education and awareness regarding the importance of respecting, caring for, protecting, conserving, and fostering a deep appreciation for bees; 3) Equal Status with Livestock: The law seeks to elevate their status to the same level as cattle. Consequently, stealing bees would be considered a rustling crime under the Federal Penal Code; and 4) Recognizing Honey's Nutritional Value: The law also aims to establish honey as a perfect food, recognizing its exceptional nutritional properties. It advocates for honey to be considered an essential component of a balanced diet to safeguard the health of society. Furthermore, this law contains provisions to enhance the regulation and support of apiculture, including the rights and obligations of beekeepers; it creates the National Council of the Beekeeping Product System, outlines the responsibilities and attributions of relevant authorities, and sets forth specific standards, reporting procedures, and licensing requirements for various aspects of beekeeping, including the establishment of apiaries, the movement of hives or their products, and other relevant activities.

Summary: On January 6, 2016, the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, approved Act 1774 of the Republic of Colombia, which led to the most important development concerning the legal protection of animals in the country, and represented a turning point in Animal Law in Latin America in terms of the new conception of the legal relationships between people and non-human animals, which is the basis of modern Animal Law. The drafting of the bill, presented by Chamber Representative Juan Carlos Losada, relied on the participation of lawyers and experts, who in turn involved associations and activists who had been working for a long time on animal protection issues in Colombia. The author had the honor of participating in the drafting of the bill, exchanging opinions, knowledge, and experiences in a very enriching debate that culminated with the consolidation of a text that is fully coherent with the Colombian legal framework. The Act reformed the National Animal Protection Statute (Act 84 of 1989), as well as the Colombian Civil, Criminal and the Criminal Procedure Codes. This commentary analyzes the novel aspects brought about by the publication of the abovementioned Act, which within the first two years that it has been in force has already been interpreted in several decisions of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court. These judicial decisions have explored the actual implications behind the conception of animals as “not things” and as “sentient beings,” turning the focus onto the materialization of legal principles and declarations into everyday life.

Summary: This 2019 law is a secondary law that regulates the application of the constitutional mandate that the Mexico City government guarantees the fulfillment of the more than fifty fundamental rights established in the Constitution. This law addresses the issue of animal protection, specifically in Article 95. Article 95 states that animal protection shall be guaranteed in the broadest way to provide a livable city and seek people's fulfillment of the right to a healthy environment.

Summary: Ley 371, enacted in March 2023, is the law by which Panama promotes the conservation and protection of Sea Turtles and their habitat. Relying on Law 287, 2022 (which recognized Nature as a subject of Rights), this law recognizes sea turtles are subjects of rights in Panama. More specifically, Article 29, "Protection of the Rights of Turtles and their Habitat," establishes that sea turtles have "the right to live and have free passage in a healthy environment, free of pollution and other anthropocentric impacts that cause physical damage and damage to their health, such as climate change, contamination incidental capture, coastal development, and unregulated tourism, among others."

Summary: Law 287, 2022 is the Panama's law that recognizes the Rights of Nature and the State's related obligations with such rights.

Summary: Even though the constitution has indirectly granted animals rights as they are part of nature, they continue to be categorized as movable objects by the civil code. However, the most recent reform to the civil code is from 2005, meaning the current civil code still needs to be updated to comply with the 2008 constitution and subsequent constitutional court decisions. Article 585 defines movable objects as those that can be transported from one place to another, either by their force, like animals (which is why they are called “semovientes”), or by an external force, like inanimate things. Article 639 states that “domestic animals are subject to domain” (or complete ownership). It is important to note that the bill for animal welfare is currently in the hands of the National Assembly. Changing the categorization of animals in the civil code to “sentient beings” is one of the many topics regulated by this bill.

Summary: Following the Estrellita case (Constitutional Court decision No. 253-20-JH/22), in 2022, the owner of "Cuqui Brown," a two-fingered sloth filed a habeas corpus petition following his seizure by the authorities. In this case, the court denied the habeas corpus and held that the plaintiff violated "Cuqui Brown's" rights established in Estrellita's case.