Animals are protected by international law through several overlapping frameworks. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) regulates international wildlife trade. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and its daughter agreements protect specific species crossing national boundaries. UNCLOS (the Law of the Sea) includes provisions relevant to marine wildlife. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) frames ecosystem-level protection. None of these instruments primarily focus on animal welfare — they address conservation, biodiversity, and sustainability objectives.
A dedicated international animal welfare treaty does not exist. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) sets internationally recognized animal welfare standards, but these are standards and guidelines for member states, not legally binding treaty obligations.
WOAH's Terrestrial Animal Health Code and Aquatic Animal Health Code contain chapters on animal welfare covering transport, slaughter, killing for disease control, and working animals. These standards are adopted by consensus among 182 member countries and represent global baseline expectations. They are referenced in trade agreements (WTO SPS Agreement) and can be invoked in trade disputes. In 2025, WOAH has active working groups on fish welfare, aquatic invertebrate welfare, and disaster preparedness with welfare components.
The 2024 adoption of WOAH's updated chapter on fish welfare — including provisions on stunning before slaughter, stocking density considerations, and transport standards — represents a significant advance, as fish were previously addressed mainly in the context of disease rather than welfare.
CITES regulates international trade in wildlife through a permit system with Appendix I (most endangered — commercial trade prohibited) and Appendix II (trade regulated) listings. The convention focuses on conservation rather than welfare, but welfare is increasingly integrated into implementation. CITES Resolution Conf. 17.8 (2019) on transport of live specimens includes welfare requirements. The 2022 CoP19 in Panama added new welfare language to several resolutions and recognized that welfare and conservation concerns are often linked in illegal wildlife trade.
The interface between international trade law (WTO) and animal welfare measures is a critical area of legal development. WTO rules prohibit trade measures that discriminate against imported goods — but permit measures necessary for protection of animal life or health (GATT Article XX(b)). The extent to which animal welfare measures qualify for Article XX(b) protection has been litigated in several disputes:
The EU's Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) provides a possible model for "border welfare adjustment" — trade measures that prevent competitive disadvantage from higher domestic welfare standards. Several EU legal academics have proposed a Border Animal Welfare Adjustment Mechanism (BAWAM) to complement the EU's increasingly stringent domestic welfare standards.
The World Animal Protection organization and academic legal scholars have long advocated for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) or an International Convention on Animal Welfare. In 2025, a coalition including the Animal Welfare Institute, Humane Society International, and academic centers including the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is advancing a draft Convention on Animal Welfare that would:
Prospects for a binding treaty remain challenging — major producing countries (USA, China, Brazil) are unlikely to accept binding welfare obligations that could constrain their agricultural sectors. However, a non-binding Universal Declaration, as a General Assembly resolution, is seen as more politically feasible and could establish normative foundations for future binding instruments.
The European Union's animal welfare acquis (body of law) is the world's most comprehensive legally binding regional framework. EU animal welfare law includes regulations on farmed animal welfare (laying hens, pigs, calves, broilers), transport, slaughter, and laboratory animals. The EU's Animal Welfare Strategy 2023–2027 commits to revising these regulations with higher standards.
Because the EU is the world's largest trading bloc, its welfare standards have global reach through supply chain requirements. Third country exporters must meet EU standards for products they wish to export to the EU market. This "Brussels effect" extends EU welfare norms globally without requiring treaty mechanisms — Brazil's dairy exporters, Australian poultry producers, and Chilean salmon farmers all implement EU welfare-adjacent standards for their EU-export product lines.
Legal personhood cases for animals — granting them standing in court and legal rights rather than being property — have advanced in several jurisdictions. Colombia's Supreme Court granted a river ecosystem legal personhood in 2016; several courts have engaged with chimpanzee personhood petitions (Nonhuman Rights Project). In 2025, India's National Green Tribunal is considering a case on dolphin and river rights. Argentina's orangutan Sandra case (2015, legal personhood recognized) remains the most advanced precedent for individual animal legal rights.
The Whanganui River personhood decision in New Zealand (2017) — applying to an ecosystem rather than a species — provides a legal model that some advocates are proposing should be extended to wildlife populations and individual great apes.
Animal law has grown dramatically as a law school subject. In 2025, over 150 law schools globally offer animal law courses. The Harvard Animal Law and Policy Program, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and NYU Animal Law Center produce practitioners and scholarship advancing the field. The Animal Legal Defense Fund maintains an annual US law school animal law ranking. This educational expansion is building a professional community capable of advancing legislative and litigation strategies across jurisdictions.
Tags: Animal Law International Treaties CITES Trade Law 2025