Government measures recognizing the rights of animals and nature have gained momentum in recent years amid debate between environmental advocacy groups.
Panama passed a law this year that guarantees sea turtles the right to thrive in a healthy environment — the latest advancement of the Rights of Nature movement that pushes to recognize the rights of wildlife as similar to those of humans. At least 30 countries have Right to Life measures at some level of government, according to the United Nations, which includes more than thirty areas in the U.S.
David Jenkins, the president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, said his group advocates for strong wildlife and ecosystem protection initiatives but believes that the Rights of Nature approach is impractical. These measures, he said, would be hard to define at the judicial level and could lead to a clog in environmental cases.
“Conveying every species equal rights under the law would be a litigation nightmare,” Jenkins told The Dallas Express. “How do the courts balance competing rights, not only between people and animals but between differing ecosystem priorities? What happens when action to protect the rights of one animal species ends up impairing the rights of another? Imagine, for example, advocates for killer whales and advocates for seals battling it out in court. It simply isn’t practical.”
But Constanza Prieto Figelist, the Latin American legal director for the Earth Law Center, said there is reason to believe the Rights of Nature movement will gain momentum in the U.S. as leaders further prioritize climate initiatives. One example, she said, is in the Pacific Northwest, where some local leaders have recognized the rights of Southern Resident Orcas as the species approaches extinction.
“This is a root cause of the global environmental crisis because we commodify nature and allow for its incessant decline, with traditional environmental laws typically only kicking in when ecosystems and species are already in severe decline,” Preito Figelist told The Dallas Express. “In reality, humans are part of nature, not separate from it, as shown by environmental harms regularly suffered by human populations, especially vulnerable communities. Our legal system must evolve to reflect that reality that humans are interconnected with all other life.”
Still, Jenkins said the Rights of Nature approach is a distraction from effective environmental policies. He said the focus in the U.S. should be to better enforce existing laws and find ways to expand them where needed.
“These laws need to carry mandatory minimum fines and sentences that will effectively deter bad behavior and take away the financial incentive for killing wildlife or destroying habitat,” Jenkins told The Dallas Express. “We also need to have higher population targets before threatened or endangered wildlife are removed from protected status.”
Texas does not have any Rights of Nature measures, according to the UN.
