Animal rights vary greatly among countries and territories. Such laws range from the legal recognition of

non-human Non-human (also spelled nonhuman) is any entity displaying some, but not enough, human characteristics to be considered a human. The term has been used in a variety of contexts and may refer to objects that have been developed with human intelligen ...

animal sentience to the absolute lack of any anti-

cruelty Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve ...

laws, with no regard for animal welfare. As of November 2019, 32 countries have formally recognized non-human animal sentience. These are: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It has been proposed that the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

(UN) pass the first resolution recognizing animal rights, the

Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) is a proposed inter-governmental agreement to recognise that animals are sentient, to prevent cruelty and reduce suffering, and to promote standards on the welfare of animals such as farm animals, ...

, which acknowledges the importance of the sentience of animals and human responsibilities towards them. The

Great Ape Project The Great Ape Project (GAP), founded in 1993, is an international organization of primatologists, anthropologists, ethicists, and others who advocate a United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Great Apes that would confer basic legal right ...

is currently campaigning to have the United Nations endorse a World Declaration on Great Apes, which would extend to non-human great apes the protection of three basic interests: the right to life, the protection of individual liberty, and the prohibition of torture. Six countries currently ban the use of

great apes The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the ...

for

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

, and Austria is the only country in the world to ban experiments on lesser apes. In 2009, Bolivia became the first country to banish animal abuse and harm in circuses. The United States of America is the only country in the world that has banned killing horses for consumption, and India is the only country to have banned killing cows for consumption in some of its states. In 2014, the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

pilgrimage destination of Palitana City in Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

became the first city in the world to be legally

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

. It has banned buying and selling meat, fish, and eggs, as well as related jobs, such as fishing and animal farming.

Global animal rights maps

;Food production ;Clothing and cosmetics ;Entertainment

Council of Europe convention maps

Principal laws on animal rights

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Animal Rights Animal rights-related lists Animal welfare and rights legislation Animal welfare Bioethics Comparisons Law-related lists Political movements Society-related lists

Global animal rights maps

Council of Europe convention maps

Principal laws on animal rights

See also

Notes

References