Studi e ricerche

Benessere animale e diritti degli animali non umani in Ecuador

crossmark logo

Abstract

This chapter examines the evolving legal status of non-human animals in Ecuador, with a particular focus on constitutional developments. The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador is based on two key principles: animal welfarism and socio-biocentrism. The former promotes animal welfare in relation to human use, while the latter emphasises harmony with nature and grants certain rights to non-human animals as part of the ecosystem. Although Ecuador has taken pioneering steps, there are still gaps in its fragmented legal framework. Future reforms and a stronger ethical stance towards animals could help to align the law with evolving perspectives on sentience and animal welfare.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: July 22, 2025 | Accepted: Aug. 28, 2025 | Published Dec. 18, 2025 | Language: it

Keywords Ecuador • Animal welfare • Rights of non-human animals • Bullfight • Dereification of animals

Copyright © 2025 Serena Baldin. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


read this chapter