Zbornik Radova Pravnog Fakulteta u Nišu (Jan 2019)
Children's rights and animal welfare
Abstract
In light of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the ever-changing social, economic, cultural and natural environments at the global level, animal welfare should be addressed as an emerging topic which may broaden the understanding of the CRC application. Animal welfare can be understood as a mechanism to directly affect and ensure the following children's rights envisaged in the CRC: the right to life, survival and development (Article 6); the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (Article 24); the right to food (Articles 27 and 24); the right to protection against all forms of violence (Articles 19, 24(3), 28(2)), 37(a) and 32-36); the right to physical and psychological recovery of victims (Article 39); the rights related to the aims of education (Article 29); the right to leisure and play (Article 31); and the right to a healthy environment. The paper elaborates how the provision of a good state of animal welfare affects the exercise of selected children's rights: the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and the right to protection against all forms of violence. There is a growing body of evidence for positive effects of good state of animal welfare on the exercise of children's rights on a global level. It is of broader social importance to recognize this interconnection and understand mechanism by which treating animals with care is reflected on the welfare of the child and the exercise of children's rights.
