7 - Animals as Part of the Environment

Summary

This chapter argues that animals, as part of the environment, benefit from the protection afforded by the direct and indirect environmental safeguards offered by principles and rules of international humanitarian law. However, it also reveals that the pertinent norms are weak and largely unclear, especially in the context of non-international armed conflicts. For this reason, the chapter contends that the said rules need to be read in conjunction with the growing body of international norms, standards and mechanisms that seek to prevent and redress environmental harm during peacetime. Indeed, international environmental law has the potential to protect animals from suffering from the general deterioration of natural habitats and ecosystems caused by humans. However, the protection offered by the relevant instruments and unwritten principles is severely constrained by their narrow substantive, personal and territorial scope of application.