Prof. Anne Peters: Animals in International Law

The plight of animal individuals and species inflicted on them by human activity is a global problem with detrimental repercussions for all humans and for the entire planet. With her book “Animals in International Law” (Brill 2021), Prof. Anne Peters, managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, places the issue on the agenda of international law. The book, based on her Hague lecture of 2019, gives an overview of the most important international legal regimes which directly address animals and which indirectly affect them. It covers species conservation treaties, notably the international whaling regime, the farm animal protection rules of the EU, international trade law, and the international law of armed conflict. It also analyses the potential of international fundamental rights for animals. Finding that international law creates more harm than good for animals, the book suggests progressive treaty interpretation, treaty-making, and animal interest representation for closing the animal welfare gap in international law. A body of global animal law needs to be developed, accompanied by critical global animal studies.