动物法律主体的理论争议与法律路径

Theoretical Controversies and Legal Pathways to Animal Legal Subjecthood

摘要: 随着动物保护理念不断发展，动物法律主体逐渐成为动物法研究的重要议题，但法律主体地位是否构成强化动物保护的必要条件，仍有进一步讨论空间。本文以动物权利理论与动物福利理论为分析框架，对两种动物保护路径的规范基础、义务生成机制及规范实施效果进行比较。动物权利路径通过赋予动物法律权利，为动物利益提供独立的规范基础，并能够借助权利结构生成相应法律义务；动物福利路径则无需赋予动物法律主体地位，而是通过配置人类保护义务，在现有民法、行政法和刑法体系内实现动物利益保护。可以发现，动物权利理论对动物自身利益的强调可以在福利主义框架内获得借鉴与转化：一方面承认动物的内在价值和类权利利益，另一方面构建以义务为核心的保护机制。我国动物保护法律体系应立足现有法律框架，走以福利为基础、以义务为核心、以权利理论为价值参照的渐进式完善路径。

Abstract: With the continuous development of animal protection concepts, animal legal subjecthood has gradually become an important issue in animal law research. However, whether legal subject status constitutes a necessary condition for strengthening animal protection remains open to debate. This paper employs normative analysis and comparative research to examine the normative foundations, obligation-generating mechanisms, and legal implementation effects of the animal rights approach and the animal welfare approach. The animal rights approach provides an independent normative basis for animal interests by conferring legal rights and generating corresponding legal obligations through the structure of rights, whereas the animal welfare approach protects animal interests by imposing duties on human actors within the existing civil, administrative, and criminal legal systems. It can be observed that the emphasis placed by animal rights theory on animals’ own interests can be drawn upon and transformed within the welfare framework: on the one hand, by recognizing animals’ intrinsic value and rights-like interests, and on the other hand, by constructing a protection mechanism centered on legal duties. China’s animal protection legal system should be grounded in the existing legal framework and follow a progressive path of improvement that takes welfare as its foundation, duties as its core, and rights theory as its value reference.