Animal Warfare Law and the Need for an Animal Law of Peace: A Comparative Reconstruction

Abstract

This Article puts forward a novel analogy between animal welfare law and international humanitarian law—two seemingly unrelated bodies of law that are both marked by the aporia of humanizing the inhumane. Through the comparative lens of the international laws of war and peace, this Article argues that existing animal welfare law is best understood as a kind of warfare law that regulates violent activities within an ongoing “war on animals.” It further submits that this animal warfare law needs to be complemented and counterbalanced by an animal law of peace, consisting of a jus animalis contra bellum and peacetime animal rights.