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The Effect of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine on Non-Human Animals: International Humanitarian Law Perspectives
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 September 2024
Abstract
Since Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, there have been thousands of instances of civilian casualties, damage to the natural environment and cultural property, destruction of buildings and infrastructure, blockading of ports, siege, capturing installations containing dangerous forces, and other consequences that accompany hostilities. In addition to the fatalities related to humans (civilians and combatants alike) and their property or environment, the war in Ukraine has also accounted for non-human tolls – namely, the destruction of animals or damage to their habitats.
The primary objective of this article is to study three patterns of animal suffering documented during Russia's invasion of Ukraine: (i) targeting zoos and killing zoo animals; (ii) extermination of the Black Sea dolphin population; and (iii) eating pigeons or other pets in besieged localities, and to analyse these patterns in the light of applicable rules of international humanitarian law (IHL).
The idea of this research is to underline that war can have a significant effect on various categories of animals, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine is just another example of this. The article also discusses how, and the extent to which international law can provide protection for animals in armed conflict, and whether there are any gaps in the applicable IHL rules related to the protection of animals.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with the Faculty of Law, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
References
1 The author of this article believes that Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and its actions in the aftermath constitute unlawful use of force, which is prohibited under the Charter of the United Nations (entered into force 24 October 1945) 1 UNTS XVI, art 2(4), and also amount to aggression as provided under the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Res 3314(XXIX) (14 December 1974). The article refers to the terms Russia's ‘invasion’ and ‘aggression’ interchangeably, emphasising the illegality of Russia's actions under international law.
2 See Wolfgang Benedek, Veronika Bílková and Marco Sassòli, ‘Report on Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022’, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 13 April 2022, https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/f/a/515868.pdf.
3 For more information about the impact on the environment of Russia's invasion of Ukraine see Nyekwere, Empire and Duson, Nuleera Ambrose, ‘A Legal Assessment of the Environmental, Humanitarian, and Economic Impacts of the Russia/Ukraine Armed Conflict’ (2022) 4(3) International Review of Law and Jurisprudence 46–62Google Scholar. See also Nathan Rott, Claire Harbage and Hanna Palamarenko, ‘Shredded Trees, Dead Dolphins and Wildfires — How Russia's Invasion Is Hurting Nature’, NPR, 1 July 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/07/01/1106327585/russia-invasion-ukraine-environment-impacts. For a detailed overview of animal suffering in Ukraine see Section 3 of this article.
4 Roscini, Marco, ‘Animals and the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2017) 47 Israel Yearbook on Human Rights 35, 61–62Google Scholar.
5 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (entered into force 1 July 2002) 2187 UNTS 5 (Rome Statute) art 8(2)(b)(iv).
6 Ukraine Criminal Code (2001), art 441.
7 Stop Ecocide Foundation, Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide: Commentary and Core Text, June 2021, https://www.stopecocide.earth/legal-definition.
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10 Ventura, Manuel J, ‘Repression of International Crimes’ in Peters, Anne, de Hemptinne, Jérôme and Kolb, Robert (eds), Animals in the International Law of Armed Conflict (Cambridge University Press 2022) 313, 314Google Scholar.
11 Janice Cox and Jackson Zee, ‘How Animals Are Harmed by Armed Conflicts and Military Activities’, Conflict and Environment Observatory, 18 March 2021, https://ceobs.org/how-animals-are-harmed-by-armed-conflicts-and-military-activities. See Sarah D Cruse, ‘Military Working Dogs: Classification and Treatment in the U.S. Armed Forces’ (2015) 21 Animal Law 249.
12 Jérôme de Hemptinne, ‘The Protection of Animals During Warfare’ (2017) 111 American Journal of International Law UNBOUND 272, 272.
13 Peters, Anne, Animals in International Law (Brill 2021) 334Google Scholar.
14 Roscini (n 4) 36.
15 For detailed analysis of the need to recognise protection of animals under IHL see Saba Pipia, ‘Forgotten Victims of War: Animals and the International Law of Armed Conflict’ (2022) 28 Animal Law 175.
16 Roscini (n 4) 36
17 David Favre, ‘Animals as Living Property’ in Linda Kalof (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies (2017 online edn, 2014) 65, 66 (describing the status of animals as ‘living property’).
18 Hague Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its Annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land (entered into force 26 January 1910), Martens Nouveau Recueil (ser 3), art 53.
19 ibid art 47.
20 ibid art 53; Marco Longobardo, ‘Animals in Occupied Territory’ in Peters, de Hemptinne and Kolb (n 10) 217, 220–23 (explaining that the protection offered to public and private property sometimes extends to animals in occupied territories through international law).
21 Nowrot, Karsten, ‘Animals at War: The Status of “Animal Soldiers” under International Humanitarian Law’ (2015) 40 Historical Social Research 128, 142–43Google Scholar.
22 ibid 143.
23 See Sassòli, Marco, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare (Edward Elgar 2019) 248Google Scholar.
24 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (entered into force 7 December 1978) 1125 UNTS 3 (AP I), art 44(3)–(4).
25 Dinstein, Yoram, Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of International Armed Conflict (4th edn, Cambridge University Press 2022), 121Google Scholar.
26 AP I (n 24) art 52(2).
27 Roscini (n 4) 46.
28 Claude Pilloud and others, Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (International Committee of the Red Cross & Martinus Nijhoff 1987) (Commentary on AP I) art 52, para 2010.
29 Peters (n 13) 362.
30 Roscini (n 4) 61–62.
31 Rome Statute (n 5).
32 Report of the International Law Commission on the Work of its 43rd Session (29 April–19 July 1991), UN Doc A/46/10, art 26; see also Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Resulting from Activities Dangerous to the Environment (entered into force 21 June 1993) CETS 150, art 2, para 10 (defining the term ‘environment’ for the purpose of the Convention to include ‘natural resources both abiotic and biotic, such as air, water, soil, fauna and flora and the interaction between the same factors; property which forms part of cultural heritage; and characteristic aspects of the landscape’).
33 AP I (n 24) art 54(2).
34 ibid art 54(1).
35 Roscini (n 4) 56–57.
36 Singer and Todorchuk (n 9).
37 Presentation by Krystina Gavrysh, ‘Enhancing Environmental Protection in Armed Conflict’, online event organised by the Italian Society of International Law, 19 September 2022 (on file with the author).
38 Tsavo Trust, ‘An Update on War-torn Ukraine's Zoo Animals, and Does the War Throw New Light on Zoos’ Role in Conservation?’, https://tsavotrust.org/an-update-on-war-torn-ukraines-zoo-animals-and-does-the-war-throw-new-light-on-zoos-role-in-conservation.
39 ‘Смерть від голоду та холоду: зоопарк на Київщині просить про ‘зелений коридор’ для тварин’, YHIAH, 15 March 2022, https://www.unian.ua/society/smert-vid-golodu-ta-holodu-zoopark-na-kijivshchini-prosit-pro-zeleniy-koridor-dlya-tvarin-novini-ukrajini-11744017.html.
40 ‘Окупанти обстріляли в Харкові притулок для тварин: загинули 5 собак’, 24 Канал, 8 March 2022, https://24tv.ua/okupanti-obstrilyali-harkovi-pritulok-dlya-tvarin-zaginuli-5_n1895809.
41 ‘Russian Troops “Burn 30 Horses Alive” in Stable near Kyiv, Ukraine Says’, LBC, 22 March 2022, https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/russian-troops-burn-30-horses-alive-civilian-stable-ukraine.
42 For more information see official website of the Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation, https://helpukrainehorses.eu.
43 For details see https://twitter.com/opencages_ua/status/1509515903150563336.
44 Eddy Wax, ‘The Starvation of a Nation: Putin Uses Hunger as a Weapon in Ukraine’, Politico, 1 April 2022, https://www.politico.eu/article/the-starvation-of-a-nation-how-putin-is-using-hunger-as-a-weapon-in-ukraine.
45 ‘Russian Occupiers Stole a Dog from the Captured Azovstal Defender and Presented It to Kadyrov’, Hromadske Radio, 16 June 2022, https://hromadske.radio/en/news/2022/06/16/russian-occupiers-stole-a-dog-from-the-captured-azovstal-defender-and-presented-it-to-kadyrov.
46 Brooke Kato, ‘Dog Deserts Russian Special Forces To Fight for Ukraine on the Front Line’, New York Post, 1 June 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/06/01/dog-deserts-russian-forces-to-fight-for-ukraine-on-front-line.
47 ‘Patron the Mine-Sniffing Dog Awarded Medal by President Zelensky’, BBC News, 9 May 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61376816.
48 Seoirse Mulgrew, ‘Ukrainians Forced To “Drink Water from Radiators and Kill Pets for Food” in Mariupol’, Irish Independent, 21 March 2022, https://www.independent.ie/news/ukrainians-forced-to-drink-water-from-radiators-and-kill-pets-for-food-in-mariupol-41472361.html.
49 David Millward, ‘Audio Reveals Russian Troops Are Eating Dogs because They Are “Sick” of Ration Packs’, The Telegraph, 31 March 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/31/audio-recording-reveals-russian-troops-eating-dogs-ration-packs.
50 Jake Thomas, ‘Dolphins in Black Sea Dying by the Thousands during Russia-Ukraine War’, Newsweek, 20 July 2022, https://www.newsweek.com/dolphins-black-sea-dying-thousands-during-russia-ukraine-war-1726551.
51 See, eg, Law of Ukraine on the Protection of Animals from Cruelty, No 3447 – IV, 21 February 2006.
52 Kinder, John M, ‘Zoo Animals and Modern War: Captive Casualties, Patriotic Citizens, and Good Soldiers’ in Hediger, Ryan (ed), Animals and War: Studies of Europe and North America (Brill 2013) 45, 59Google Scholar.
53 ‘Operation Retribution 1941’, ARTOUR, https://ar-tour.com/guides/belgrade-weekend-party/operation-retribution-1941.aspx.
54 Longobardo (n 20).
55 Kenny Torella, ‘Animal Welfare in Wartime’, Vox, 26 March 2022, https://www.vox.com/22996601/animal-welfare-ukraine-wartime-international-humanitarian-law.
56 ibid.
57 Under IHL ‘civilian object’ is defined by means of a negative method, which means that everything that is not a military object is a civilian object; see Commentary on AP I (n 28) art 52 para 2012.
58 AP I (n 24) art 52(2).
59 The principle of distinction is a basic rule of IHL, which provides that ‘[i]n order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives’: AP I (n 24) art 48.
60 Roscini suggests that ‘[i]f “property” is interpreted according to its ordinary meaning, then it would at best include farm and zoo animals as well as pets and other domestic animals, but not wild, stray or unowned animals’: Marco Roscini, ‘Animals as Property and as Objects’ in Peters, de Hemptinne and Kolb (n 10) 73, 75.
61 Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
62 For qualification of endangered species as part of the natural environment see Ayse-Martina Bohringer and Thilo Marauhn, ‘Animals as Endangered Species’ in Peters, de Hemptinne and Kolb (n 10) 129, 140-42.
63 For detailed analysis see Longobardo (n 20) 220–22.
64 Peters (n 13) 335–36.
65 Cox and Zee (n 11).
66 ‘How Many Dolphins Live in the Black Sea? Results of the Research’, The Odessa Journal, 13 May 2021, https://odessa-journal.com/public/how-many-dolphins-live-in-the-black-sea-results-of-the-research#:~:text=And%20here%20are%20the%20results,Sea%20%2D%20at%20least%20253%20thousand.
67 Thomas (n 50).
68 Stuart Greer, ‘Tens of Thousands of Dead Dolphins among Environmental Casualties of Ukraine War’, RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty, 3 December 2022, https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-dolphins-war-black-sea-russia/32159530.html.
69 ‘Thousands of Dolphins Die in Black Sea, Collateral Victims of War in Ukraine’, RFI, 25 July 2022, https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20220725-thousands-of-dolphins-die-in-black-sea-collateral-victims-of-war-in-ukraine.
70 Mark Santora, ‘Dolphins Dying in Black Sea, and May Be Casualties of War, Scientists Say’, The New York Times, 2 June 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/02/world/europe/dolphins-dying-ukraine-war.html.
71 Ewa Węgrzyn and others, ‘The Use of Social Media in Assessing the Impact of War on Cetaceans’ (2023) 19(4) Biology Letters 2.
72 Aristos Georgiou, ‘Russia-Ukraine War Pushing Dolphins to Extinction in Black Sea’, Newsweek, 5 April 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/dolphins-black-sea-face-extinction-russia-ukraine-war-1792786.
73 AP I (n 24) arts 35(3), 55(1).
74 ibid art 51(5) (regarding the principle of proportionality).
75 Rome Statute (n 5) art 8(2)(b)(iv).
76 Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol I: Rules (International Committee of the Red Cross and Cambridge University Press 2005, revised 2009) rules 43–45.
77 ICJ, Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion [1996] ICJ Rep 226, [33].
78 See generally International Law Commission, Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts, Report on the Work of the Seventy-First Session (10 December 2019), UN Doc A/74/10, 209–96.
79 Fleck, Dieter (ed), The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law (4th edn, Oxford University Press 2021) 215–16Google Scholar.
80 Commentary on AP I (n 28) art 55 para 2134.
81 ibid art 35 para 1441.
82 ibid art 35 para 1462.
83 ibid art 55 para 2126.
84 ibid art 35 para 1462.
85 AP I (n 24) art 55.
86 Commentary on AP I (n 28) art 35 para 1452 and fn 117.
87 Michael Bothe and others, ‘International Law Protecting the Environment during Armed Conflict: Gaps and Opportunities’ (2010) 92(879) International Review of the Red Cross 569, 575–76.
88 Anne Dienelt, Armed Conflicts and the Environment: Complementing the Laws of Armed Conflict with Human Rights Law and International Environmental Law (Springer 2022) 45–46.
89 Natalia Datskevych, ‘More than 5,000 Dolphins Die in Black Sea as a Result of Russia's War’, The Kyiv Independent, 20 July 2022, https://kyivindependent.com/hot-topic/more-than-5-000-dolphins-die-in-black-sea-as-a-result-of-russias-war.
90 Rome Statute (n 5) art 8(2)(b)(iv).
91 Stahn, Carsten, A Critical Introduction to International Criminal Law (Cambridge University Press 2019) 109Google Scholar.
92 Otto Triffterer and Kai Ambos (eds), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commentary (3rd edn, CH Beck 2016) 9.
93 Elements of Crimes, ICC Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1st Session, 3–10 September 2002, ICC-ASP/1/3, art 8(2)(b)(iv), element 1, 9.
94 AP I (n 24) art 49(1).
95 AP I (n 24) art 49; Commentary on AP I (n 28) art 49 para 1882.
96 Triffterer and Ambos (n 92) 355.
97 ibid 356.
98 Schabas, William A, The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2017) 266Google Scholar.
99 Beatrice L Hamilton, ‘Legal Challenges to the Inclusion of a Crime of Ecocide in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’ in Regina M Paulose (ed), Green Crimes and International Criminal Law (Vernon Press 2021) 107, 119.
100 Triffterer and Ambos (n 92) 379.
101 Elements of Crimes (n 93) art 8, Introduction, 9.
102 Schabas (n 98) 235.
103 See ‘Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine’, 28 February 2022 (‘I have decided to proceed with opening an investigation’).
104 Martin Crook and Damien Short, ‘Marx, Lemkin and the Genocide–Ecocide Nexus’ (2014) 18(3) The International Journal of Human Rights 298, 306.
105 Tord Bjork, The Emergence of Popular Participation in World Politics: United Nations Conference on Human Environment 1972 (Department of Political Science, University of Stockholm 1996) 20.
106 Stop Ecocide Foundation (n 7).
107 Report of the International Law Commission, Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind (December 1991), UN Doc A/46/10, 250, art 26 (stating that ‘[a]n individual who willfully causes or orders the causing of widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment shall, on conviction thereof, be sentenced [to …].’).
108 Hamilton (n 99) 133.
109 Ukraine Criminal Code (2001), art 441.
110 ‘Ecocide as an Element of Russian War against Ukraine’, Ukraine Crisis Media Center, 30 May 2022, https://uacrisis.org/en/ukraine-in-flames-80.
111 Rachel Killean, ‘Legal Accountability for Environmental Destruction in Ukraine’, Conflict and Environment Observatory, 7 March 2022, https://ceobs.org/legal-accountability-for-environmental-destruction-in-ukraine; Mark Kersten, ‘The Forgotten Victim of War: The Natural Environment in Ukraine’, Justice in Conflicts, 2 May 2022, https://justiceinconflict.org/2022/05/02/the-forgotten-victim-of-war-the-natural-environment-in-ukraine.
112 Ukraine Criminal Code (2001), art 441.
113 Andrei Boyko and others (eds), Commentaries to the Criminal Code of Ukraine (2009) commentary to art 441.
114 Yurii Karmazin and others (eds), Commentaries to the Criminal Code of Ukraine (2001) commentary to art 441.
115 ‘Siege of Leningrad’, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 September 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Leningrad (‘Siege of Leningrad, [also called 900-day siege,] prolonged siege (September 8, 1941–January 27, 1944) of the city of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in the Soviet Union by German and Finnish armed forces during World War II. The siege actually lasted 872 days’).
116 Piankevich, Plenkov and Sokhor (n 8).
117 ibid 158.
118 ibid 162.
119 ibid 173.
120 AP I (n 24) art 54(1) (prohibiting starvation of civilians as a method of warfare); Rome Statute (n 5) art 8(2)(b)(xxv) (prohibiting starvation of civilians as being a war crime).
121 Piankevich, Plenkov and Sokhor (n 8) 161, 165.
122 Nils Melzer, Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law (International Committee of the Red Cross 2009) 78.
123 Sassòli (n 23) 435.
124 Clapham, Andrew, War (Oxford University Press 2021) 306Google Scholar.
125 Dinstein (n 25) 9–12.
126 Peters, Anne and de Hemptinne, Jérôme, ‘Animals in War: At the Vanishing Point of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 104(919) International Review of the Red Cross 1285, 1298Google Scholar.
127 For detailed rules on the prohibition of starvation as a method of warfare see AP I (n 24) art 54(1) and Commentary thereto (n 28) paras 2087–97.
128 Roscini, Marco, ‘Targeting and Contemporary Aerial Bombardment’ (2005) 54 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 411, 432–33Google Scholar.
129 Peters (n 13) 408–09.