The European Declaration of the Rights of the Animal of 17 February 2025

Abstract

On 17 February 2025 - the tenth anniversary of the recognition of animals as beings endowed with sensibility in the French Civil Code - a European Declaration of the Rights of the Animal was proclaimed by a group of nine French university jurists. Inspired by the European Convention on Human Rights, this fourteen-article declaration opens up an original path which, in the name of the quest for effectiveness, would make it possible to better ensure the protection of animals by progressively recognising their rights. The text is intended as a tool for judges and legislators, while adopting a strategic laconism to avoid hindering interpretation. Rejecting rigid scientific definitions, the drafters are betting on a gradual and pragmatic advance in animal rights, relying on the capacity of the law to incorporate effective protection over time, rather than on symbolic proclamations devoid of impact.