Angus Nurse and Tanya Wyatt
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781529204346
- eISBN:
- 9781529204384
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529204346.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter examines issues around animal rights and wildlife rights exploring the notion of wildlife as belonging to ‘no-one’ or as belonging to ‘everyone’ in a manner that arguably should create a ...
More
This chapter examines issues around animal rights and wildlife rights exploring the notion of wildlife as belonging to ‘no-one’ or as belonging to ‘everyone’ in a manner that arguably should create a form of rights. Animal rights debates often centre around the need to provide rights for recognized sentient species (chimpanzees, dolphins, apes) and this chapter critically considers these debates, arguing that our exploitation of wildlife amounts to an infringement of certain rights. The chapter also contrasts the greater level of protection and limited rights provided to companion animals with that provided to wildlife, and argues for a limited extension of rights to wildlife in the form of legal personhood that protects them from certain forms of exploitation. The chapter includes case studies of the recent US case that attempted to argue for legal personhood in respect of several chimpanzees and the Argentine case that granted legal personhood to the Orang-utan, Sandra.Less
This chapter examines issues around animal rights and wildlife rights exploring the notion of wildlife as belonging to ‘no-one’ or as belonging to ‘everyone’ in a manner that arguably should create a form of rights. Animal rights debates often centre around the need to provide rights for recognized sentient species (chimpanzees, dolphins, apes) and this chapter critically considers these debates, arguing that our exploitation of wildlife amounts to an infringement of certain rights. The chapter also contrasts the greater level of protection and limited rights provided to companion animals with that provided to wildlife, and argues for a limited extension of rights to wildlife in the form of legal personhood that protects them from certain forms of exploitation. The chapter includes case studies of the recent US case that attempted to argue for legal personhood in respect of several chimpanzees and the Argentine case that granted legal personhood to the Orang-utan, Sandra.
