Legal Position of Domestic Animals and Farm Animals

In the European laws, the animal is considered from a formal legal point of view as a thing or object in the possession of a person or a company. The only exemplary exception is in Switzerland, which in 2003 recognized animals as living beings with certain basic rights and enshrined them in law.

This TAO campaign is about enforcing the legal basis of animals as living beings across Europe so that national laws no longer define and treat them as a thing or object.

This is to be achieved first in Germany and Austria so that the German-speaking D-A-CH area can be adopted as a model for the EU. After that, the campaign is to be expanded to the other continents until the animals can be recognized, respected and protected as best possible worldwide as living beings.