The paths towards a new legal status for animals in France

Abstract

Since 2015, the French Civil Code has prescribed that animals are sentient beings. Although the new this change in the French Civil Code has promoted a change in the legal status of animals, which are no longer considered inanimate things. Nevertheless, the new act warns that although they remain property that can be appropriated, contrary provisions in animal law protection may modify this regime. The article uses the historical-evolutionary method to demonstrate that, although this change was more symbolic than effective, by anticipating that animal protection laws may provide otherwise, it may have a significant future effect, allowing new acts or judicial precedents to recognize that some species are depersonalized legal entities.