Title: The EU’s Role In Animal Law: Harmonizing Welfare Beyond Borders
Título: El papel de la UE en la legislación sobre animales: armonización del bienestar más allá de las fronteras
Autora: Pilar López de la Osa Escribano, Profesora Contratada Doctora en Derecho Administrativo, Universidad Pontificia Comillas-ICADE, ORCID: 0000-0001-8999-2664, pldelaosa@comillas.edu
Fecha de recepción: 30/12/2025
Fecha de modificación: 28/01/2026
Fecha de aceptación con modificaciones: 02/03/2026
Fecha de modificación: 16/03/2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56398/ajacieda.00477
Documento completo: “The EU’s Role In Animal Law: Harmonizing Welfare Beyond Borders”
Abstract:
Concern for nature as a whole and the different ecosystems that comprise it has led to the incorporation of International Biodiversity Law into the legal sphere. In this sense, damage to biodiversity involves preventing the deterioration and loss of ecosystems and their habitats, thereby avoiding the disappearance of the animal species found there, as suggested by non-binding international strategies and directly applicable European regulations. This cross-cutting environmental protection has also given rise to the branch of Global Animal Law.
In line with these statements, the concern for promoting animal welfare and its recognition as sentient beings in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union has led to changes in the civil codification of some European





