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International & Foreign Animal Law Research Guide

Introduction

This guide is intended to help researchers locate information on animal law in an international and foreign law context. For help researching U.S. animal law, see our companion guide.

The focus of this guide is primarily on international and foreign law that addresses welfare issues of companion animals, farm animals and animals used in research. In this guide, there is less of a focus on international law for the protection of wildlife and marine animals. Here you will find links and information on international treaties, national laws on animal welfare, EU legislation, case law, books, articles and organizations.

Animal law is a broad subject, with governments and organizations worldwide constantly developing new concepts and approaches to animal welfare. Some issues include:

  • the overpopulation of companion animals
  • trade in exotic animals as pets
  • animal fighting (e.g. dog and cock fighting)
  • animal cruelty legislation
  • humane transport of farm animals
  • use of battery cages and gestation crates
  • animal research in the cosmetics industry
  • the fur industry

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Wolff Library reference desk at 202-662-4195 or by email: intlref@law.georgetown.edu. You may also submit your question via this online form.

Treaties

Currently, there is no worldwide treaty governing the protection of animal welfare.

Animal welfare organizations (such as the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the ASPCA) are leading a campaign to gather 10 million signatures to present to the United Nations along with the text of a "Universal Declaration for the Welfare of Animals."

In addition to the Universal Declaration, there has also been a proposed "International Convention for the Protection of Animals" [proposed text from Animal Legal & Historical Center]. For further discussion, see "Movement Toward an International Convention for the Protection of Animals - The Further Adventures of Four Rabbits" in Animal Welfare and the Law INTL KD3424.A75 A53 1989.

The European Union has several regional treaties governing the protection of animals in transport, farming and experimentation.

National Laws

Usually, the best place to start research on foreign legislation is the Foreign Law Guide. The Foreign Law Guide is arranged by country and outlines major laws on a given subject. The subject "Animals and Animal Welfare" is included for each of the jurisdictions, but this relevant subject is blank for the majority of jurisdictions.

Since the Foreign Law Guide is not a viable source for information on animal law, you may have to turn to the Internet and to secondary sources such as journal articles and books to locate foreign legislation on the topic. Be aware that you may only find summaries of laws, or that a reliable English-language translation may not be available.

Animal welfare legislation from various countries can be found scattered across various websites. The "World Materials" page of the Animal Legal and Historical Center is one example of a site that collects laws from several countries. Below is a list of national laws on animal welfare that are written in English, have been translated into English, or have English summaries.

European Union Directives and Regulations

An excellent source to check for current issues and proposed EU legislation on animal law is the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection. On the DG's site you can find, for example, the proposed regulation on the banning of the import, export and sale of dog and cat fur in the EU.

For more EU legislation on animal protection, see this list from EUR-Lex. [Hint: EUR-Lex is the top online source for researching existing EU legislation, while ŒIL, the Legislative Observatory and Pre-Lex are two places to search for proposed law.] See our research guide on the EU for more detailed information.

Below are some of the key EU directives on farming animals, transport and animal experimentation. Be sure to update your research!

Farm Animals

Transport

Animal Experimentation

Case Law

Foreign case law can be more challenging to locate than foreign legislation. You may not be able to locate an English translation of a foreign decision.

In many countries, court decisions are not considered primary law and there may not be any official publication of decisions. Also, in some countries, only the country's highest court will issue its decisions. Periodicals and journals may be the best source for decisions--in fact, in many countries, legal periodicals act as unofficial sources for case decisions. Periodicals can also be used to find case summaries and citations to new case law.

If you have the citation to a foreign decision and cannot decipher the abbreviation for the case reporter, try the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations online.

Below are selected print and electronic sources for foreign case law.

Books and Book Chapters

Books on international animal law and related interdisciplinary topics can be found in several places in Wolff and Williams. Use keyword searching in the library catalog to locate books on your topic. If you would like to browse books in Wolff, you can find them at K3620, K3520 to K3525, and KD3424. See our U.S. -focused animal guide for suggestions on locating books in Williams.

You may find some books that focus specifically on international animal law, while others may only include one or two relevant chapters. Here are a few suggestions.

  • Agricultural Policy Reform in the WTO INTL K3870 .A457 2003
    Includes the chapters "The Economics of Animal Welfare Issues" and "Welfare Implications of Liberalizing Preferential Quotas".
  • Animal Welfare INTL HV4711.A55 2006
  • Animal Welfare Law in Britain : Regulation and Responsibility INTL KD3424 .R33 2001
  • Animal Welfare in Europe : European Legislation and Concerns INTL KJE6237 .A96 1997
  • Animals, Ethics, and Trade : The Challenge of Animal Sentience HV4704.A52 2006 Includes several chapters on animal welfare issues in China, one on India and a section on international animal policy.
  • Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures INTL BP134.N3 F65 2006
  • Animals in the Third Reich : Pets, Scapegoats, and the Holocaust
    HV4943.G3 S38 2000
  • Basic Legal Documents on International Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation
    INTL K3525.A35 B37 2000
  • Compassionate Beasts : The Quest for Animal Rights HV4764 .M86 2001 Includes the chapter "Multi-Issue Advocacy in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia".
  • The Environment in Jewish Law : Essays and Responsa INTL KBM3127 .E58 2003
    Includes the chapters "Judaism and Animal Welfare" and "Responsibility Toward Pets".
  • The European Model of Agriculture INTL KJE6605 .C37 2004
    Includes the chapter "Legal Aspects of Animal Welfare".
  • European Union Lobbying : Changes in the Arena INTL KJE947 .E96 2002
    Includes the chapter "Getting Animal Welfare on to the World Trade Agenda".
  • Global Food Trade and Consumer Demand for Quality INTL HD9000.5 .G583 2002
    Includes the chapter "Potential Implications of Animal Welfare Concerns and Public Policies in Industrialized Countries for International Trade".
  • In Defense of Animals : The Second Wave HV4711 .I6 2006 Includes the chapter "How Austria Achieved a Historic Breakthrough for Animals".
  • Livestock, Ethics, and Quality of Life SF140.S62 L58 2000 Includes chapters on Asia, Latin America and Africa.
  • The Meat Business : Devouring a Hungry Planet BJ52.5 .M43 1999 Includes chapters on farm animal welfare in the EU, Central and Eastern Europe and India.
  • Negotiating the Future of Agricultural Policies : Agricultural Trade and the Millennium WTO Round INTL K4610 .N43 2000 Includes the chapter "Trade Liberalisation in Agriculture: The Likely Implications for European Farm Animal Welfare".
  • Organ Transplantation, Euthanasia, Cloning & Animal Experimentation : An Islamic View
    R725.59 .E37 2001
  • Das Spannungsverhältnis von Religionsfreiheit und Tierschutz am Beispiel des "rituellen Schächtens" INTL KK5529 .S39 2003
  • The WTO and Concerns Regarding Animals and Nature INTL K3943 .W76 2003

Periodical Literature

Want to find out if you can get electronic access to a journal article through the library? Check the E-Journal Finder! From the library homepage, it's the first link under Quick Links. The E-Journal Finder even tells you if a journal is available on Lexis and Westlaw. To use the E-Journal Finder, type in the name of the journal, and see what sources will give you full-text electronic access. If we don't have the journal electronically, check the library catalog for a print version or request the article through interlibrary loan.

The International Institute for Animal Law offers an extensive bibliography on animal law that includes many law journal articles.

Journal Indexes

Periodical literature is a good way to obtain background information, locate the text of a foreign law, a citation, or locate information about a subject. To obtain the best results, use periodical indexes to locate relevant citations.

Articles on international/foreign law aspects of animal law can be found published in a number of sources, including many American law journals. You may find relevant articles in journals that do not otherwise focus on international or foreign law topics. For example, the journal Animal Law K1 .N4575 includes both articles with an American law focus as well as those with an international/foreign law focus.

Below are listed a few of the most commonly used journal indexes. See our journal indexes page for a complete list. If you are new to using indexes to find articles, have a look at these two guides: Locating Journal Articles: Foreign & International and Using Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research.

Full text of articles are available in the Cambridge, Oxford & Kluwer databases listed below.

Organizations

There are many organizations worldwide that monitor or advocate for law on animal welfare issues. Some organizations post relevant laws to their websites, others produce reports or other documents on various issues. Surveying the websites of animal welfare organizations is a good way to find out what are some of the hottest issues -- always good topics for seminar papers!


Revised May 2007 (aeb)
Links revised August 2008 (RAS)

Page last saved 23-Nov-2009