Envisioning an inter-species justice

Eric L. Sugarman

Chapter 29 in Research Handbook on Animal Law and Animal Rights, 2025, pp 537-547 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: We have inherited a world defined by structural violence, exploitation, and the pervasive objectification of nonhuman beings. These harms are embedded in legal systems, which reflect and perpetuate systemic violence. Animal law challenges this paradigm, aiming to dismantle the legal and political frameworks that sustain such exploitation. As a revolutionary expansion of legal and political thought, animal law confronts anthropocentric ideologies that dominate frameworks like those in the United States. It demands moral and ethical consistency, offering a pathway to systemic change. The animal protection movement's ultimate goal—abolishing animal exploitation—requires transcending the narrow focus on animal issues alone. Instead, it must address interconnections between animal oppression, colonialism, misogyny, and other forms of marginalization. Animal law can serve as an emancipatory jurisprudence, advocating for the meaningful inclusion of nonhuman animal interests in legal, moral, cultural, and ethical systems. By reducing or abolishing exploitation, it envisions a world where humans and nonhumans can flourish together. Through narrative, coalition-building, and legal advocacy, practitioners of animal law can advance this vision of interspecies justice. This work outlines a broad vision for such a transformation.

Keywords: Animal law; Animal protection movement; Emancipatory jurisprudence; Inter-species justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035324873
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035324880.00039 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22949_29

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Darrel McCalla ().