Animals as Means of Medical Transportation, Search and Rescue

doi:10.1017/9781009057301.012

11 - Animals as Means of Medical Transportation, Search and Rescue

from Part II - The Protection of Animals in International and Non-international Armed Conflicts

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 October 2022

Jérôme de Hemptinne

Edited by

Anne Peters ,

Jérôme de Hemptinne and

Robert Kolb

Show author details

Anne Peters: Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg
Jérôme de Hemptinne: Affiliation:
Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
Robert Kolb: Affiliation:
Université de Genève

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Some principles enshrined in particular in Geneva Conventions I and IV and in Additional Protocol I regarding the protection of medical transports, equipment and personnel could potentially provide minimum safeguards for animals when these are used as a means of medical transportation or in search and rescue operations. However, this regime is in many respects inappropriate for the protection of animals. It does not take into account the fact that animals are sentient beings experiencing emotion, pain and distress. Therefore, the application of sui generis principles, tailored to the specific needs of living creatures – such as the principles of animal dignity, no military involvement and return to homeland – should be conceived in light of recent legal trends on the welfare and rights of animals in peacetime.

Keywords

animals in war medical transport medical search medical rescue medical equipment medical personnel animal dignity

Type: Chapter
Information: Animals in the International Law of Armed Conflict , pp. 184 - 199

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009057301.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Select Bibliography

Baratay, Eric, Bêtes de tranchées: Des vécus oubliés (Paris: CNRS éditions 2013).Google Scholar

Bouvier, Antoine, ‘The Use of the Emblem’ in Clapham, Andrew, Gaeta, Paola and Sassòli, Marco (eds.), The 1949 Geneva Conventions (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2015), 855–85.Google Scholar

Breitegger, Alexander, ‘The Legal Framework Applicable to Insecurity and Violence Affecting the Delivery of Health Care in Armed Conflicts and Other Emergencies’, International Review of the Red Cross 95 (2013), 83–127.CrossRef Google Scholar

Haeck, Tom, ‘Loss of Protection’ in Clapham, Andrew, Gaeta, Paola and Sassòli, Marco (eds.), The 1949 Geneva Conventions (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2015), 839–54.Google Scholar

Liivoja, Rain, ‘Status of Medical Personnel: Clear as Mud?’, ICRC Blog Humanitarian Law and Policy (25 February 2019).Google Scholar

Nowrot, Karsten, ‘Animals at War: The Status of “Animal Soldiers” under International Humanitarian Law’, Historical Social Research 40 (2015), 128–50.Google Scholar

Peters, Anne, ‘Global Animal Law: What It Is and Why We Need It’, Transnational Environmental Law 5 (2016), 13–16.Google Scholar

Roscini, Marco, ‘Animals and the Law of Armed Conflict’, Israel Yearbook on Human Rights 47 (2017), 35–67.Google Scholar

Schmitt, Michael, ‘War, Technology and the Law of Armed Conflict’ in Helm, Anthony (ed.), The Law of War in the 21st Century: Weaponry and the Use of Force (Newport: Naval War College International Studies 2006).Google Scholar

Schöberl, Katia, ‘Buildings, Material, and Transports’ in Clapham, Andrew, Gaeta, Paola and Sassòli, Marco (eds.), The 1949 Geneva Conventions (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2015), 825–38.Google Scholar

Sassòli, Marco, ‘Medical Care in Armed Conflict, Part I’, ICRC Blog Humanitarian Law and Policy (24 January 2019).Google Scholar