Legal Status of the Animal as a Determinant of Its Humanitarian Protection
Legal Status of the Animal as a Determinant of Its Humanitarian Protection

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the humanitarian protection of animals in Polish law. It is of a scientific and research nature and its purpose is to define the relationship between the legal status of an animal and the nature and the scope of its humanitarian protection. The legal status of an animal is determined by the Animal Protection Act, through dereification and the general principle of humane treatment of animals. In the light of legal provisions, two basic categories of animals can be distinguished in the context of their humanitarian protection: domestic animals and working animals. The latter are then divided into further subcategories. The scope of humanitarian protection varies depending on belonging to a given category, because legal provisions differently define the scope and degree of obligations regarding animal welfare. However, the premises for classifying a given animal as belonging to one of those types, result not only from the scope of legal acts. The decisive role in this regard has the status that is given by a man, usually determined by the man’s attitude towards the animal and its utility for the man. This attitude is shaped individually in a specific case and is the actual source of the legal status of the animal and consequently its protection.

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