26 April 2026
The relationships human societies have with animals aren’t fixed, but vary according to era, culture, territory and customs.
Whaling, which has been practised since the ninth century and was industrialized in the 19th century, offers a good example. Long considered normal, commercial whaling has been banned since a 1986 global moratorium, and, although three countries still practise it, is now widely regarded as ethically unacceptable.
This shift — from exploitation to protection — shows how fluid our relationship with animals is, and how much it can change.
But even though eras come and go, cultures evolve and habits change, two ideas persist: the notion that humans transcend the animal kingdom and are not part of it, and the notion that there are “categories” of animals — pets, farmed animals and “wild” animals.
As a PhD student in law at the University of Ottawa, I’m interested in the legal relationships we have with other animals.
Animal law: Property and persons
Biologically, humans are animals. This is a continuum, with no clear boundary separating us from other species. Yet in moral and legal terms, we still draw a line between humans and non-human animals.
In virtually all legal systems, animals are considered “property,” meaning they’re subject to ownership. They can be bought, owned, sold and “used.”
Human beings, on the other hand, have legal personality, fundamental rights and the capacity to take legal action to assert those rights.
This hasn’t always been the case: certain human relationships were also largely based on ownership, in a manner similar to the way we treat animals today — slavery in particular.
The legal status of animals in Québec
In the province of Québec, the law has evolved considerably. For the past 10 years, the province’s Civil Code has recognized that animals are sentient beings with biological needs, even though provisions relating to property continue to apply to them.
Sentience refers to a living being’s capacity to experience emotions and subjective sensations such as pain, pleasure and well-being. Biological needs refer to an animal’s essential requirements — physical, physiological and behavioural — linked to its species, age, breed and state of health.
Read full article
https://theconversation.com/legal-categories-for-animals-still-divide-and-limit-animal-rights-278376
