It's someone (not something)

• Main Author: Marita Giménez-Candela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Dret 2018-01-01
• Series: Derecho Animal
• Subjects: sentiencia animal, seres sintientes, estatuto jurídico de los animales, descosificación, animales como cosas, tom regan, reforma del código civil españa, derecho animal, picasso, lump, david douglas duncan
• Online Access: https://revistes.uab.cat/da/article/view/251

It is a seemingly natural perception that animals are “somebodies” and not “something”, especially to those who live with them, as Picasso did with Lump, as portrayed by photographer David Douglas Duncan in his reference book. The law resists recognising the reality of animal sentience, although in recent months Spain has seen the beginning of a process of change of the legal status of animals (from things to sentient beings) in its Civil Code, which is briefly reflected by this Editorial, although it is a project that I have scientifically supported since my first involvement in this emerging field of law – Animal Law.