Ecuador's High Court Rules That Wild Animals Have Legal Rights
In the case of a woolly monkey taken from the wild and raised as a pet for 18 years, the court ruled that wild animals must be protected against disproportionate cruelty, fear and distress.
By Katie Surma
March 29, 2022
Wild animals possess distinct legal rights, including to exist, to develop their innate instincts and to be free from disproportionate cruelty, fear and distress, Ecuadors top court ruled in a landmark decision interpreting the countrys rights of nature constitutional laws.
The 7-2 ruling handed down on Monday in Quito is believed to be the first time a court has applied the rights of naturelaws that recognize the legal rights of ecosystems to exist and regenerateto an animal, a woolly monkey named Estrellita.
The monkey was taken from the wild when she was 1 month old and kept as a pet by Ana Beatriz Burbano Proaño for 18 years. Possessing a wild animal is illegal under Ecuadorian law and authorities seized Estrellita in 2019, relocating her to a zoo. She died within a month.
Before Burbano, a librarian, realized Estrellita was deceased, she filed a habeas corpus petition, which is a legal mechanism to determine if the detention of an individual is valid. In the petition, Burbano asked that Estrellita be returned to her and later requested that the court declare that Estrellitas rights had been violated. The case snaked its way through Ecuadors legal system, landing before the Constitutional Court in December of last year.
More:
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29032022/ecuadors-high-court-rules-that-wild-animals-have-legal-rights/