Ecuador National Law: rights of non-human animals
In 2022, a draft national law in Ecuador on the rights of non-human animals was formally presented to the National Assembly by Ecuador’s Defensoría del Pueblo.Read More →
Animal Rights
This page identifies initiatives that explicitly recognize an individual animal or species of animal as a subject with rights. Note that all initiatives included in the Animal Rights are also included in the Rights of Nature category, but the reverse is not true.
Grisons (Switzerland) court case: rights of wolves and children
In 2024, a child took legal action contesting a culling order of wolves in the Canton of Grisons, arguing it violates the rights of nature and the child.Read More →
Bumblebee FOI Request (Switzerland): Federal Chancellery and GS-DETEC
In 2025, an extinct bumblebee (Bombus confusus) filed a Freedom of Information request in Switzerland on the government’s handling of the ecological crisis.Read More →
New Zealand Tohorā Oranga Bill: legal personhood of whales
On 5 February 2026, MP Teanau Tuiono lodged a member's bill, the Tohorā Oranga Bill, in the New Zealand parliament, seeking to give whales inherent rights. Read More →
Moananui Sanctuary Agreement
The Agreement was drafted to establish 12.5 million km2 of marine protected areas in the Pacific and will be considered for ratification in September 2025.Read More →
Gujarat (India) High Court Case: Abdulkadar Mohamad Azam Sheikh v State of Gujarat
In 2010, the High Court of Gujarat in India ruled in favor of a case against the captivity of birds that the court determined constituted curel treatment and viRead More →
Ecuador Court Case: Rights of the Jambato Harlequin Toad
In January 2026, the Pujili Canton in Ecuador approved a protective action for the protection of the habitat of the Jambato Harlequin toad from being destroyed.Read More →
International Declaration on the Rights and Freedom of Dolphins and Whales (2017)
In November 2017, the Dolphin Embassy drafted the Declaration on the Rights and Freedom of Dolphins and Whales.Read More →