Animals as Property and as Objects

doi:10.1017/9781009057301.006

5 - Animals as Property and as Objects

from Part II - The Protection of Animals in International and Non-international Armed Conflicts

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 October 2022

Marco Roscini

Edited by

Anne Peters ,

Jérôme de Hemptinne and

Robert Kolb

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Anne Peters: Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg
Jérôme de Hemptinne: Affiliation:
Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Robert Kolb: Affiliation:
Université de Genève

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Summary

This chapter explores whether animals can be considered as ‘property’ and ‘objects’ under the law of armed conflict, in particular under Article 23(g) of the 1899/1907 Hague Regulations on the Laws and Customs of War on Land and under the law of targeting codified in Additional Protocol I. The chapter concludes that Article 23(g) of the Hague Regulations and the law of targeting apply to animals which are considered as ‘property’ and as ‘objects’. Upon such classification, animals fall in the scope of the relevant rules. The legal consequence is that animals may only be lawfully attacked when they qualify as military objectives or when the harm done to them is proportionate incidental damage resulting from an attack on a military objective. In military operations short of attack, animals may only be destroyed or seized if military necessity ‘imperatively’ dictates it. The violation of these rules triggers not only state responsibility but also the criminal liability of the responsible individual(s).

Keywords

animal welfare law of targeting Hague Regulations military objectives principle of distinction principle of proportionality

Type: Chapter
Information: Animals in the International Law of Armed Conflict , pp. 73 - 91

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009057301.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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