Rights of Animals

BY Bhumika Sharma & Priyanka Sharma.

Man’s association with animals is very common. With the change of time and historicity, it has been reoriented from time to time. Animals are a hugely important part of the human world. They are relied upon for food, used as research models, companions, working animals, for sport and in recreation. The interaction between nature and society holds a conspicuous place for philosophers, natural scientists, sociologists and historians. The field of human-animal relations is fast becoming one of the hot areas of debate. This article shall trace the role played by various non-governmental and inter-governmental bodies to raise awareness about the issues pertaining to animals in the form of Conventions, Declarations, etc. The maintenance of environmental health has been increasingly becoming an object of international scientific cooperation.

Greater scientific knowledge and awareness have increased understanding of the importance of animal welfare; and this in turn has moved it from a marginal local or national concern to become an important regional and international policy issue. Animal welfare is debated in regional and international policy forums. It is also covered by a fast-growing body of internationally and regionally accepted scheme-based policies, standards, conventions, treaties, regulations and agreements.

A number of Conventions with direct and indirect reference to animal welfare and protection have been formulated under the aegis of the United Nations.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union). The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., the United States of America, on 3rd March 1973, and on 1 July 1975, CITES entered in force. It accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs. CITES regulates the trade in more than 35,000 species. There remain millions more that are endangered but not covered by the Convention, though they are species protected under specific national legislation that are not restricted in international trade.

The World Heritage Convention is a Convention under the aegis of UNESCO. It links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. It recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two. It defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List. It sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving heritage sites. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the World Heritage sites situated on its territory, but also to protect its national heritage.

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals was signed at Bonn in 1979. It came into force in 1983, four years after the original treaty. Its membership has grown steadily to include 124 parties. It provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. It brings together the States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range. It complements and co-operates with a number of other international organizations, NGOs and partners in the media as well as in the corporate sector. The Parties should promote, co-operate in and support research relating to migratory species; shall endeavour to provide immediate protection for migratory species and shall endeavour to conclude Agreements covering the conservation and management of migratory species.

It was adopted on 28th October, 1982. It is divided into four major parts: the Preamble, General Principles, Functions and Implementations. Ecosystems and organisms, as well as the land, marine and atmospheric resources that are utilized by man, shall be managed to achieve and maintain optimum sustainable productivity, but not in such a way as to endanger the integrity of those other ecosystems or species with which they coexist. In the planning and implementation of social and economic development activities, due account shall be taken of the fact that the conservation of nature is an integral part of those activities.

The Convention on Biological Diversity was signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. It recognizes biological diversity about plants, animals and micro-organisms and their ecosystems. It was established to protect the world’s biodiversity and covers all species, ecosystems and genetic resources.

In the past two to three years, two resolutions have been passed recognizing animal issues.

11th Conference of the Parties to the CMS has adopted a resolution whose objective is to consider the role and dynamics of culturally transmitted behaviours. The resolution was based on the recommendations of a workshop held by CMS’ Scientific Council’s Aquatic Mammals Working Group (a typical procedure within the context of multilateral environmental treaties). The adopted Resolution recognizes how socially complex mammals show evidence of (non-human) culture and lays out a set of requests and/or invitations related to scientific knowledge and data collection. The Parties are strongly encouraged to consider the role and dynamics of culturally transmitted behaviours when determining conservation measures.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its first-ever resolution on wildlife trafficking. The Resolution calls upon countries to prevent, combat and eradicate the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products through action on both supply and demand sides, including strengthened legislation, enforcement and criminal justice responses.

India is a party to the key multilateral agreements and recognises the interdependencies among, and transboundary character of, several environmental problems.

European Union has been an enormous force in carrying forward animal welfare advances throughout Europe. In Europe, animal welfare has been the subject of national legislation and regional agreements for more than a generation, largely due to more exposure to and discomfort with the treatment of animals in industrialized farms and slaughterhouses.

On a regional level, the Council of Europe’s five conventions are of principal interest – the European Convention for the Protection of Animals During International Transport 1968; European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes 1976; the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes 1986; the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals 1987; and the European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter 1988.

The European Union introduced a Protocol to its founding Treaty (1957) in 1997, requiring European institutions to take account of animal welfare when considering legislation in the areas of research, transport, agriculture and the internal market. The Community and the Member States shall pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, while respecting the legislative or administrative provisions and customs of the Member States relating in particular to religious rites, cultural traditions and regional heritage. It introduced a clear legal obligation for the Community institutions (Commission, Parliament and Council) to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals. It did not, however, extend the competence of the Community to treat animal welfare per se within its remit.

International League for Animal Rights and Affiliated National Leagues on the occasion of the Third International Meeting on the Rights of Animals adopted The Declaration on the Rights of Animals, 1977. It was solemnly proclaimed on 15 October 1978 at UNESCO House in Paris.

In 1994, Maurice Strong (Secretary-General of the Rio Summit) and Mikhail Gorbachev, working through organizations they each founded (Earth Council and Green Cross International respectively), launched an initiative (with support from the Dutch Government) to develop an Earth Charter as a civil society initiative. After numerous drafts and after considering the input of people from all regions of the world, the Earth Charter Commission came to consensus on the Earth Charter in March, 2000, at a meeting held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The Earth Charter was later formally launched in ceremonies at The Peace Palace in The Hague. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations.

These are issued by Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) and the ICLAS. The use of animals for scientific and/or educational purposes is a privilege that carries with it moral obligations and responsibilities for institutions and individuals to ensure the welfare of these animals to the greatest extent possible. While implementation of these Principles may vary from country to country according to cultural, economic, religious, and social factors, a system of animal use oversight that verifies commitment to the Principles should be implemented in each country. This system should include a mechanism for authorization and oversight which may be assessed at the institutional, regional, and/or national level.

In 1986, HRH Prince Philip (the Duke of Edinburgh), then President of the WWF International invited leaders of five of the major religions of the world: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. They met to discuss how their faiths could help save the natural world. The meeting took place in Assisi in Italy, (it was the birth place of ‘St Francis’, the Catholic saint of ecology). From this meeting, arose key statements by the five faiths/religions outlining their own distinctive traditions and approach to the care for nature. By 1995, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation was formed. By drawing on holy books, sacred sites, traditional farming, education networks, media, and the assets of the religions, assist and enable the religions of the world to respond to the environmental challenges of the Twenty-First Century.

In March 2003, the Government of the Philippines hosted an intergovernmental conference in Manila that agreed to the principles of a Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare. The proposed Declaration was agreed by the 22 government delegations that attended the conference. It recognises that “animals are living, sentient beings and therefore deserve due consideration and respect.” Its principles declare that animal welfare “shall be a common objective for all nations” and that “all appropriate steps shall be taken by nations to prevent cruelty to animals and to reduce their suffering.” The Declaration was simply agreed by animal rights groups, wherein countries should acknowledge that animal welfare is an important public policy issue and more needs to be done for the benefit of animals around the world. While a number of countries have acknowledged support of the document, it is not yet a formally accepted Declaration. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations recognised UDAW in 2009, integrating animal welfare into its poverty alleviation, disaster relief and livestock development programmes.

It established a permanent working group on animal welfare, with a significant programme. The February 2004 conference confirmed OIE’s international leadership role in animal welfare: work on developing guidelines for priority topics is underway and active involvement of all member states will be essential to the success of this initiative. Chapter 7.1.2 of the Guidelines of OIE recognizes “five internationally recognized freedoms for animals” – freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; freedom from fear and distress; freedom from physical and thermal discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and diseases and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour.

World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth at Bolivia called on the GA of the United Nations to adopt it, as a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations of the world. Every human being is responsible for respecting harmony with Earth.

UN, EU, and various international animal protection societies/organisations have been playing an active role for animal protection. Their efforts echo the need for a stronger international framework addressing the issue. There is a need of a UN endorsed instrument on animal rights in particular. Animals should be the subject not just the object of rights. It is hoped to promote debate among the policy makers for preventing the extinction of animal lives for the benefit of future human generations and ensuring the well-being of all animals. Thus, a far more humane society is expected with respect for animal rights.