Historical and legal notes on the rights of sentient beings from comparative legislation in the case of Colombia and Mexico

Abstract

This article presents an analysis carried out around the different theories proposed by some of the most prominent references in legal literature regarding the normative and social advances in relation to the status of animals as sentient beings. The goal is to present them as deserving of broad and comprehensive legal protection, thereby determining whether a prompt legislative reform is necessary, aligning with social realities and regulatory advances. The cases of two countries are compared: Colombia, which has made significant advances both in its legislation and in its jurisprudential production, and Mexico, a country that has developed regulatory progress worthy of being replicated whenever there is recognition of animals as subjects of rights, elevating this prerogative to constitutional rank.