Animal Protection in the Context of the Rights of Nature: Towards a New Legal Model of Nature Conservation?
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.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDF (Język Polski)References
Anker K., Burdon P.D., Garver G., Maloney M., Sbert C. (eds.), From Environmental to Ecological Law, London 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003001256.
Bird F., Twiss S.B., Pedersen K.P., Miller C.A., Grelle B., The Practices of Global Ethics: Historical Backgrounds, Current Issues, and Future Prospects, Edinburgh 2016.
Bojar-Fijałkowski T., O sprawną administrację publiczną dla ochrony praw i interesów środowiska oraz w środowisku, [w:] Prawa i interesy w ochronie środowiska. Perspektywa międzynarodowa, unijna i krajowa, red. M. Baran, B. Iwańska, I. Przybojewska, Warszawa 2024.
Bosselmann K., In Search of Global Law: The Significance of the Earth Charter, “Worldviews” 2004, vol. 8(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568535041337766.
Bosselmann K., The Framework of Ecological Law, “Environmental Policy and Law” 2021, vol. 6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/STAL210006.
Bosselmann K., Gwiazdon K., Zambrano V. (eds.), Ecological Integrity and International Law: Peace, Public Health, and Global Security, London 2025, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003440871.
Callen A., Hayward M.W., Klop-Toker K., Allen B.L., Ballard G., Beranek C.T., Broekhuis F., Bugir C.K., Clarke R.H., Clulow J., Clulow S., Daltry J.C., Davies-Mostert H.T., Di Blanco Y.E., Dixon V., Fleming P.J.S., Howell L.G., Kerley G.I.H., Legge S.M., Lenga D.J., Wüster W., Envisioning the Future with ‘Compassionate Conservation’: An Ominous Projection for Native Wildlife and Biodiversity, “Biological Conservation” 2020, vol. 241, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108365.
Cullinan C., Earth Jurisprudence, [w:] The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law, eds. L. Rajamani, J. Peel, Oxford 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0014.
Dion M., The Moral Status of Non-Human Beings and Their Ecosystems, “Ethics, Place & Environment” 2000, vol. 3(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/713665891.
Futhazar G., Biodiversity, Species Protection, and Animal Welfare under International Law, [w:] Studies in Global Animal Law, ed. A. Peters, Berlin–Heidelberg 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-60756-5_9.
Garver G., The Rule of Ecological Law: The Legal Complement to Degrowth Economics, “Sustainability” 2013, vol. 5(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su5010316.
Garver G. (ed.), Ecological Law in Practice: Case Studies for a Transformative Approach, London 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032622378.
Glazer J.W., Nonhuman Rights or Protections: A Discussion of the Functional Difference, If Any, between Laws Providing Either Biocentric Rights or Anthropocentric Protections for Nonhumans, “Animal Law” 2021, vol. 27(1).
Kaczmarek P., Machaj Ł. (red.), Pozytywizm prawniczy i szkoła prawa natury – tradycje sporu i jego współczesne implikacje, Wrocław 2010.
Kahui V., Armstrong C.W., Aanesen M., Comparative Analysis of Rights of Nature (RoN) Case Studies Worldwide: Features of Emergence and Design, “Ecological Economics” 2024, vol. 221, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108193.
Karpus K., A Glimpse of Environmental Procedural Democracy in Poland: Thwarting the Civil Society’s Pursuit of Legal Action against Environmental Plans, “Polish Political Science Yearbook” 2025, no. 2.
Karpus K., „Zazielenianie” prawa cywilnego. Ochrona dóbr osobistych a zielony konstytucjonalizm i prawa środowiskowe, „Prawne Problemy Górnictwa i Ochrony Środowiska” 2024, nr 1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31261/PPGOS.2024.01.05.
Koons J.E., Earth Jurisprudence: The Moral Value of Nature, “Pace Environmental Law Review” 2008, vol. 25(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.58948/0738-6206.1043.
Kowalska S., Godność roślin i zwierząt. Ochrona prawna w pryzmacie etyki wartości, „Prawo i Więź” 2025, vol. 56(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.36128/PRIW.VI56.948.
Kowalska S., Natural Law and the Rights of Nature – in Search of More Effective Environmental Protection, „Przegląd Prawniczy UAM” 2023, vol. 15, DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/ppuam.2023.15.13.
Kowalska S., Prawa przyrody w ochronie środowiska i wzmacnianiu bezpieczeństwa ekologicznego, „Studia Prawnicze KUL” 2023, nr 2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31743/sp.13976.
Kućka M., Czy rzekom należy przyznać osobowość prawną?, „Kwartalnik Prawa Prywatnego” 2025, nr 2.
Mackey B., The Earth Charter and Ecological Integrity – Some Policy Implications, “Worldviews” 2004, vol. 8(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568535041337711.
Montes Franceschini M., Animal Personhood: The Quest for Recognition, “Animal & Natural Resources Law Review” 2021, vol. 17.
Pena-Guzman D., Cetacean Cultural Rights: A Third Generation of Rights at Sea, “Animal Law” 2021, vol. 27(1).
Platvoet V., Wild Things: Animal Rights in EU Conservation Law, “Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy” 2023, vol. 26(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13880292.2023.2229628.
Schmidt J.J., Of Kin and System: Rights of Nature and the UN Search for Earth Jurisprudence, “Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers” 2022, vol. 47(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12538.
Sparks T., Protection of Animals Through Human Rights: The Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights, [w:] Studies in Global Animal Law, ed. A. Peters, Berlin–Heidelberg 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-60756-5_13.
Stevenson P.R., Defler T.R., Torre S. de la, Moscoso P., Palacios E., Ravetta A.L., Vermeer J., Link A., Urbani B., Cornejo F.M., Guzmán-Caro D.C., Shanee S., Mourthé Í., Muniz C.C., Wallace R.B., Rylands A.B., Lagothrix lagothricha (Amended Version of 2020 Assessment): The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2021, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T160881218A192309103.en.
Sylvén M., Eckert C., Kelkar N., Andheria A., Linnartz L., Cipollone M., Persson H., Donadio E., Di Martino S., Ramsay S., Coulthard N., Nesterenko M., Gray R., Sinha S.K., Needham R., The Critical Role of Wild Animals in Shaping Wetland Ecosystems and the Services They Provide, Geneva, January 2025.
Verniers E., Exploring a Legal Framework for Compassionate Conservation: Guidance from the Deep Ecology Movement, “Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy” 2024, vol. 27(4), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13880292.2024.2468547.
Villagómez Moncayo B., Calle Idrovo R.F., Ramírez Iza D.C., Guía de jurisprudencia constitucional. Derechos de la naturaleza, CEDEC 2023.
Wise S.M., Nonhuman Rights to Personhood, “Pace Environmental Law Review” 2013, vol. 30(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.58948/0738-6206.1736.
Zębek E., Napiórkowska-Krzebietke A., Działania prawne i naprawcze wobec szkód w środowisku wodnym. Studium przypadku katastrofy ekologicznej na rzece Odrze, „Zeszyty BAS” 2023, nr 3, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31268/ZPBAS.2023.52.
Życiński J.M., Pole racjonalności i prawa przyrody, „Roczniki Filozoficzne” 2012, nr 4.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/ppa.2026.11.25-40
Date of publication: 2026-06-12 14:44:28
Date of submission: 2025-10-14 14:40:51
Statistics
Indicators
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.