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9 - Animals as War Weapons

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2022

By
Chris Jenks
Edited by
Anne Peters ,
Jérôme de Hemptinne  and
Robert Kolb
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
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Summary

This chapter suggests three legal strategies to leverage international humanitarian law for the protection of weaponised animals in armed conflict in the absence of a direct prohibition of animal weapons. Firstly, one could rely on international, regional organisation and domestic law during non-international armed conflict. Secondly, states can be confronted with their obligation to conduct weapons reviews (relating to international armed conflict). Thirdly, states proposing a ban or regulation on lethal autonomous weapons could be encouraged to promote or support comparable action towards weaponised animals. Even all three strategies in combination would not result in a universal prohibition against weaponising animals. The admittedly patchwork outcome(s) would only offer some measure of protection of animals where little currently exists. Additionally, each line of argument has the potential of gaining additional traction, whether as a matter of law, custom or policy, thus increasing the protection of animals.

Keywords

weaponised animalslethal autonomous weaponConvention on Certain Conventional Weaponsmeans and methods of warfaresuperfluous injuryunnecessary sufferingweapons review
Type
Chapter
Information
Animals in the International Law of Armed Conflict , pp. 150 - 170
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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Boulanin, Vincent and Verbruggen, Maaike, ‘Article 36 Reviews: Dealing With the Challenges Posed by Emerging Technologies’ (Stockholm: SIPRI 2017), 3, available at https://bit.ly/33ra8MP, accessed 22 February 2022.Google Scholar
Cooper, Jilly, Animals in War (London: Corgi Books 2000).Google Scholar
Hediger, Ryan (ed.), Animals and War: Studies of Europe and North America (Danvers: Brill 2012).Google Scholar
Kistler, John M., Animals in the Military: From Hannibal’s Elephants to the Dolphins of the US Navy (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO 2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawand, Kathleen, Coupland, Robin, and Herby, Peter, A Guide to the Legal Review of New Weapons, Means and Methods of Warfare: Measures to Implement Article 36 of Additional Protocol I of 1977 (Geneva: ICRC 2006).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

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