An Argentine Court has recognized dogs as “rightsholders.” While the case specifically applies to 55 dachshunds rescued from a puppy mill, the court’s statements are powerful and will have lasting impact on future cases.
From the article by the Nonhuman Rights Project (https://www.nonhumanrights.org/): “Ultimately, the court found the dogs to be the subjects of rights and did not mince words when it held that “the new current of animal rights movements argues that it is not enough to treat animals well or to ensure their welfare but that animals, regardless of their species, are subjects of rights, a category that has historically been reserved for natural and legal persons, i.e., human beings.””
Further: “This finding reaffirmed the position that an animal in Argentina must possess only sentience to warrant the status of a rightsholder. This is in stark contrast to American courts, where no judge has agreed to recognize even the most cognitively complex of nonhuman animals as rightsholders.”
With the Nonhuman Rights Project, the Center for Animal Litigation, and other like-minded organizations litigating on behalf of animals, we look forward to the day that a U.S. court will also recognize that Their Rights are Fundamental.
