Rodriguez Ferrere M B
Faculty of Law, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Animals (Basel). 2022 May 30;12(11):1411. doi: 10.3390/ani12111411.
Many have decried the state's underenforcement of animal welfare legislation because of the direct negative effects on animal interests. This article will advance the argument that such underenforcement has a much deeper societal effect because it undermines the rule of law. It does so by first, reviewing rule of law literature to advance the proposition that the state has a general obligation to enforce the law and, specifically, animal welfare legislation. It then looks to the practical issues that arise with the argument, specifically prosecutorial discretion and private prosecutions. Finally, it concludes that the state's underenforcement of animal welfare legislation does indeed run contrary to the rule of law, and thus regardless of whether we have the interests of animals at the front of our minds, it is a matter that should concern us all.
许多人谴责该州对动物福利立法执行不力，因为这对动物权益有直接的负面影响。本文将提出这样的观点：这种执行不力具有更深层次的社会影响，因为它破坏了法治。文章首先回顾法治文献，以提出该州有普遍的执法义务，特别是执行动物福利立法这一命题。接着探讨这一观点所引发的实际问题，特别是检察官的自由裁量权和私人起诉。最后得出结论，该州对动物福利立法执行不力确实有悖于法治，因此，无论我们是否将动物权益放在首位，这都是一个值得我们所有人关注的问题。
