Rights of nature — legal personhood for rivers, forests, and ecosystems — is growing as a legal and philosophical movement. Its implications for animal welfare are significant and complex.
The rights of nature movement intersects with animal welfare in complex ways. Legal personhood for ecosystems creates standing to challenge habitat destruction and pollution — which benefits wildlife welfare through preserved habitats and reduced toxic exposure. However, ecosystem interests do not automatically align with individual animal interests: conservation of a predator-prey system might be valued despite the suffering it involves. Welfare advocates working within rights of nature frameworks need to maintain focus on individual animal experiences alongside ecosystem values, resisting the merger of conservation and welfare that erases individual suffering from the moral calculus.