Wildlife

On 21 May 2020, the Islamabad High Court issued a remarkable judgment in the case of Kaavan the elephant (among other “inmates” [8] of the Marghazar Zoo), affirming “without any hesitation” that “animals have legal rights” [59]. Chief Justice Athar Minallah held that the “pain and suffering of Kaavan must come to an end”, and ordered his release and relocation to an elephant sanctuary [62]. This marks yet another pioneering judgment on animal rights, joining the ranks of courts in India, Argentina, and Colombia, inter alia. As these Courts have done, the Islamabad High Court’s judgment propels the discussion on the proper treatment of animals within human societies from the predominant welfare paradigm to that of rights, which promises to provide stronger enforceable protections for animals. Compared to welfare laws (which merely impose certain animal welfare duties on humans) and conservationist approaches (which seek to protect animal species as a whole), under the rights framework individual animals are endowed with basic rights of their own. Though law inevitably remains anthropogenic,…