Animal Protection in the Context of the Rights of Nature: Towards a New Legal Model of Nature Conservation?
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines the relationship between the concept of the Rights of Nature (RoN) and species-based protection of wild fauna in the context of the emerging principle of ecological integrity. Analysing how RoN is embedded within this legal axiom enables an assessment of its potential impact on the conservation-oriented model of legal nature protection (as illustrated by the initiative to grant legal personality to the Oder River). The conclusions concerning the Polish example are subsequently confronted with the Ecuadorian case resolved in 2022, in which RoN was combined with the humane protection of animals. The catalogue of “specific rights of wild animals” developed therein provides the basis for evaluating the extent to which the RoN concept may strengthen an ecocentric interpretation de lege lata and contribute to improving the effectiveness of legal nature conservation.
Source: Przegląd Prawa Administracyjnego
Author: Karolina Karpus
Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University
Language: English
Topic: Environmental law and policy
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7164745992