Studia Iuridica Lublinensia (Sep 2021)
The Legal Protection of Wild Animals in the Context of Contemporary Challenges with Particular Emphasis on Global Conditions: Selected Issues
Abstract
The article is of a research nature and has been prepared using methods appropriate for this type of publication. Obviously, the formal-dogmatic or legal-comparative method is important in this respect. However, the observation of the actual state related to the implementation of the protection in question is also not without significance. Such an approach is reflected in the adopted aim and formulated research theses. The subject matter of the article is very important from the point of view of the protection of the environment and natural resources, of which the animal world is an important element. The publication concerns issues of international importance and is undoubtedly original in character, which makes it valuable not only for scholarship but also for practice. The protection of animals is connected with saving the environment and the order in which humans live. Therefore, humanitarian and ethical considerations – reflected in legal scholarship and in normative acts – should also be taken into account. This is expressed in Article 1 (1) of the Polish Act of 21 August 1997 on the protection of animals (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2020, item 638), which states that: “An animal as a living being capable of suffering, is not a thing. Humans owe him respect, protection and care”. Such an obligation in Poland also results from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Undoubtedly, a very important element in the protection of animals is the development of an appropriate system of national law and international law. Their coexistence is a guarantee of effective legal protection of animals, especially those threatened with extinction. For an optimal model of law in the field of animal protection to be formed, it is important to shape an effective system of authorities, services and institutions equipped with rational instruments for action. Effective supranational cooperation seems essential to optimise activities to save animals threatened with extinction.
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