Papers by Zorana S . Todorovic
Animal Law Worldwide. Key Issues and Main Trends Across 27 Jurisdictions, 2024
This chapter deals with the issue of inefficient implementation of animal protection laws in Serb... more This chapter deals with the issue of inefficient implementation of animal protection laws in Serbia, which is seen as the main reason for unsatisfactory animal protection. I analyse the Animal Welfare Law and the Criminal Code, identifying main problems that relate to their ineffectiveness. I suggest improvements in the above laws and law enforcement procedures, which include consistent definitions of the key concepts in the national legislation and recognition of animals as sentient beings, including animals in the category of ‘fundamental social values’ in the Criminal Code, amending the Animal Welfare Law to focus on animals’ positive experiences, and establishing Animal Police. I argue that these modifications could lead to more efficient implementation of animal protection laws, and consequently to better protection of animal welfare and a significant improvement of the legal situation of animals in Serbia. Finally, I discuss the possibility of reconceptualising legal protections from animal welfare laws in Serbia and beyond as legal rights, and conclude that the recognition of animals’ legal rights would ensure the protection of their basic interests.
PRAVNA zaštita životinja: u susret izmenama i dopunama zakona o dobrobiti životinja, 2024
The main topic of this paper is animal sentience which is the basis of the legal protection of an... more The main topic of this paper is animal sentience which is the basis of the legal protection of animal welfare in Serbia. The paper discusses what sentience means and which non-human animals are considered to be sentient. The existing evidence is presented which shows that many animals are sentient beings that experience various sensations and emotions, most likely all vertebrates, and probably some invertebrates, too. It is pointed out that sentience is relevant to animal welfare and their interests as they are grounds of our duties to them and of animal protection laws. The Animal Welfare Law is analysed, and main problems with this law and some other laws that partly pertain to animal protection are identified, most notably inconsistencies, inefficient implementation, and the focus placed on negative duties of people. Finally, possible improvements in these laws are suggested and it is argued that this could lead to better protection of animal welfare, such as the recognition of animal sentience in the entire legal framework, the consistency of legal provisions that relate to animal protection and their efficient implementation, as well as including more positive duties of people to animals.
Animals, 2024
Can nonhuman animals be used for the benefit of humans in a scientifically and morally justified ... more Can nonhuman animals be used for the benefit of humans in a scientifically and morally justified manner and, if yes, how? Based on our own experiences as scholars from various academic backgrounds, we argue that this question can only be answered as an interdisciplinary and international endeavor, considering insights from research ethics and animal ethics as well as scientific and legal aspects. The aim of this article is to contribute to the foundation of the emerging field of animal research ethics. In doing so, we describe the following seven phases of animal research experiments: ethical, legal and social presumptions (phase 0), planning (phase I), review (phase II), conduct of experiments (phase III), publication/dissemination (phase IV), further exploitation of results (phase V), and evaluation (phase VI). In total, 20 key ethical, legal, and practical challenges that an ethical framework for the use of animals in research needs to address are identified and analyzed. Finally, we characterize the following four meta-challenges and opportunities associated with animal research ethics as a field: (1) moral pluralism, (2) the integration of views and positions outside the laboratory, (3) international plurality of conduct, standards, and legal norms, and (4) interdisciplinary education.
TEME
This paper addresses the issue of the legal status of non-human animals and the possibility of ch... more This paper addresses the issue of the legal status of non-human animals and the possibility of changing it from the status of things or property, to the status of non-things, or better, sentient beings. Key arguments for the change of their status are discussed, including the argument from marginal cases, and the scientific evidence indicating that many animals are sentient beings. Two ways of initiating such changes seem most promising: legislation, i.e. the modification of civil codes, and litigation, i.e. filing lawsuits on behalf of individual animals. It is argued that legislative changes are necessary for moving animals out of the legal category of things and into the category of sentient beings that can bear rights. On the other hand, litigation could bring about a more radical change of the legal status of some animals.
Filozofija i društvo, 2021
This paper addresses the issue of the moral status of non-human animals, or the question whether ... more This paper addresses the issue of the moral status of non-human animals, or the question whether sentient animals are morally considerable. The arguments for and against the moral status of animals are discussed, above all the argument from marginal cases. It is argued that sentient animals have moral status based on their having interests in their experiential well-being, but that there are degrees of moral status. Two interest-based approaches are presented and discussed: DeGrazia's view that sentient animals have interests in continuing to live, and that their interests should be granted moral weight; and McMahan's TRIA which similarly postulates that animals have interests and that in a given situation we should compare the human and animal interests at stake. Finally, the paper concludes that the anthropocentric approach to animal ethics should be abandoned in favour of the biocentric ethics.
Theoria, 2021
This paper deals with the evolutionary origin and the adaptive function of emotion. I discuss the... more This paper deals with the evolutionary origin and the adaptive function of emotion. I discuss the view that emotions have evolved as functional adaptations in both humans and non-human animals in order to cope with adaptive challenges and to promote fitness. I argue that there is evolutionary continuity between humans and animals in emotions and emotional expressions, and discuss behavioural argument for this thesis, specifically, Darwin’s and Ekman’s research on similarities in how humans and animals express their basic emotions. In addition to this argument, I provide neuroscientific evidence that supports the claim that basic emotions are evolutionary old and shared among humans and many other animals. Finally, I conclude that animal emotions can be considered the bases and roots of our emotions that connect us to other sentient beings.
Универзитет у Београду, May 7, 2019
TEME, 2022
This paper addresses the issue of the legal status of non-human animals and the possibility of ch... more This paper addresses the issue of the legal status of non-human animals and the possibility of changing it from the status of things or property, to the status of nonthings, or better, sentient beings. Key arguments for the change of their status are discussed, including the argument from marginal cases, and the scientific evidence indicating that many animals are sentient beings. Two ways of initiating such changes seem most promising: legislation, i.e. the modification of civil codes, and litigation, i.e. filing lawsuits on behalf of individual animals. It is argued that legislative changes are necessary for moving animals out of the legal category of things and into the category of sentient beings that can bear rights. On the other hand, litigation could bring about a more radical change of the legal status of some animals.
The paper addresses the issue of the moral standing of non-human animals and their moral and lega... more The paper addresses the issue of the moral standing of non-human animals and their moral and legal rights. First of all, two most prominent views arguing for moral significance of animals are discussed. Peter Singer’s utilitarian view is that animals are sentient beings and therefore deserve equal consideration of interests. Next, Tom Regan’s standpoint is presented, that many animals have inherent value as experiencing subjects of a life, and consequently an equal right to be treated with respect. This is followed by a discussion about legislation and legal practice in the country and abroad. Finally, it is argued that animals should have at least some basic rights protected by the law.
Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
This paper discusses the evolutionary origin and adaptive functions of emotions, in line with con... more This paper discusses the evolutionary origin and adaptive functions of emotions, in line with contemporary evolutionary psychology. Drawing upon Charles Darwin’s study of emotional expressions, it is argued that there is an evolutionary continuity among animals in emotional capacities, and that the differences between humans and animals are differences in degree and not in kind. The focus is on basic or primary emotions (joy, fear, sadness, anger), as it has been consistently shown that they are universal and shared among many different species. Basis for this view is the neuroscientific research on brain mechanisms underlying the emotions, especially subcortical brain regions that are proven to be the evolutionary old loci of emotions, homologous across many species. These neuroscientific data provide convincing empirical evidence for the existence of emotional experiences in animals and the evolutionary continuity among species.
Uploads
Papers by Zorana S . Todorovic