Universally, the law tends to treat animals as property — and it is, unsurprisingly, one of the biggest impediments to ending their exploitation. As I’ve discussed previously in One Green Planet’s monthly columns, recent efforts to improve animals’ legal status have come up short in the United States. But other countries have made, and continue to make, more progress towards this goal. In Colombia, the Constitutional Court (the country’s highest court) is now considering an especially exciting question — whether the law should view companion animals as family members.
Ricardo Díaz-Alarcón is a Colombian lawyer who worked to advance this theory in early 2022 before moving to the United States to earn his LL.M. from Harvard Law School. He’s been kind enough to join me for this month’s update and to share his expertise.
One Routine Divorce Proceeding Could Change the Law for Animals
Everyone who has lived with a companion animal knows they are much more than “pets.” Like other animals, they have personalities, desires, and preferences. They comfort us when we’re down, share our moments of joy, and forge deep emotional bonds with us. Much like children, they may also find themselves caught amid a couple’s divorce turmoil.
That is precisely what happened in the case that is now before Colombia’s highest court. A couple undergoing a divorce proceeding disputed the division of their assets. One spouse asked the family court to prohibit the other from hiding or destroying their property, and the court agreed to do so. Included in this list of “property” was the couple’s dogs, Romeo and Salvador.
The (ex) wife (the Petitioner) is now challenging this decision, arguing that it improperly treats the animals as property to be seized or divided. She has asked the Court, instead, to recognize the dogs as family members. The Constitutional Court recently agreed to review the family court’s decision and will be soon issuing a ruling on this matter.
Animals are Sentient Beings… are They Family?
In arguing that Romeo and Salvador should be legally considered family members, the Petitioner is relying on several important developments in Colombian law. First, in 2016, the Colombian Congress revised the country’s Civil Code to acknowledge that animals are more than just property — they are sentient beings. The introduction of this term in the law was already an important step towards distinguishing animals from what we normally think of as “things.”
In the past three years, several lower courts in Colombia have gone a step further and have started using the concept of “multispecies families” to protect companion animals and the affective bonds they form with human beings:
- In 2020, a judge in the city of Ibagué ruled that a dog was part of the plaintiff’s family and that the government’s refusal to provide medicine for the dog violated the family’s rights.
- In 2022, a judge in Bogotá ruled that the local government had no lawful right to prohibit the entrance of dogs into a public park because the prohibition would entail separating the plaintiff’s multispecies family.
- Lastly, this year, the Superior Court of Bogotá — an intermediate appellate court — ruled that family courts are competent to resolve disputes related to animals in divorce proceedings, including custody, visits, and Support. Now the Constitutional Court has the opportunity to establish this as a precedent for the entire country.
Notably, Colombia is not the only South American country where this discussion has taken place. In Peru, in 2018, a judge ruled that a pig was part of the plaintiff’s family and protected the family’s right not to be separated. In Brazil, in 2019, the Superior Court of Justice — in charge of standardizing federal law — ruled that a blue-fronted parrot had developed familial bonds with his caretaker and therefore granted her custody of the animal after the environmental authority had confiscated him. This shows a common pattern in the region that suggests increasing protection for companion animals.
What Could this Development Mean for Animals?
A lot, and not enough. All the cases discussed so far arise from controversies related to companion animals in the context of family relationships. Therefore, even if the Constitutional Court rules that animals are family members, this protection may not necessarily extend to other types of animals or even to companion animals beyond the household, such as stray dogs or cats, which are abundant in many South American cities.
Even so, this decision would be a major development because it would further cast doubt on the legal classification of animals as property, emphasizing instead their legal status as sentient beings. For this reason, it would not only bring about stronger protections for animals in households — especially in the context of divorce proceedings — but could eventually become a step towards the recognition of animals as legal persons or rights-holders.
Speak Up Tee By Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection
For previous Animal Law Updates, be sure to check out:
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