WHY A NEW ACT ON THE HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION OF ANIMALS IS NEEDED?
Legal regulations concerning animals protection clearly state that man owes to respect the animal and each animal requires humane treatment that must be understood by taking into account the needs and protection of animals, as far as care providing. Systematic law amendments, which are concerned to protect the animals from suffering, including unjustified or inhumane killing or cruelty to animals, should be considered as the duty of state authorities. In particular it should be done due to taking into account that animals are recognized as the “subjects of law”, for which there is a special legal regime determined by the provisions devoted to the humanitarian animals protection.
The main objective of this article is to identify the aspects, which — according to the author — affect the need to make amendments to the existing provisions concerning humanitarian protection of animals. This includes lack of law transparency, containing its precision and often contradictory regulations. Also, adapting to European regulations should be considered as important issue. Failure in application of European rules to national law means that the Republic of Poland violates its obligation as the Member State of the European Union. The author also notes that the current range of the requested changes proposed by law doctrine, state authorities, as well as by social organizations whose statutory purpose is humanitarian protection of animals is so broad, concerns so conflicting values and interests, as well as some of them are so “revolutionary”, that it requires a comprehensive and systemic look at the humanitarian issue of animal protection at the national level. Hence, instead of performing complicated amendments creation of avery new act on the humanitarian protection of animals should be considered.