| Summary: | The present article has been originally published by the Animal Legal & Historical Web Center, as part of the Animal Legal Defense Fund Summer Research Grant 2013. In terms of animal protection, French and Spain legislations are based on the Roman law tradition and encounter difficulties to detach themselves from the concept of animal-object. The penal protection was initiated in both countries on the ground of the protection of public morality. Later on, the criminal provisions relating to intentional cruelty towards animals have been shaped around the notion of maltreatment. Society ended up acknowledging the right for animals to not be maltreated. Therefore, France and Spain increased the scope of animals protected, going from exclusively domestic animals to certain types of wild animals. The scope of human deeds has been also extended, introducing with each reform new concepts. Case law kept on bringing new challenges regarding the interpretation of often-vague provisions. At the same time, obvious cruel practices, related to tradition, have benefited from derogations to the criminal provisions, weakening the legal value and coherence of anti-maltreatment laws.
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