Panda Saves the Day: Implementing Panda Diplomacy to Safeguard Diplomatic Animals

Diplomatic animals have been used as a tool to strengthen good will among nations since ancient history. Animal species such as pandas, elephants, koalas, dogs, and various other animals are often gifted within nations. Once the animals are sent as diplomatic animals, the standard practice is such that the sending country has no ownership, claim or responsibility over those animals and does not interfere with any aftermath. These animals are then protected by the animal protection laws and policies in their new residing country. It is essential that diplomatic animals are provided with the necessary care and facilities which were available for them in their native country. However, there are ample examples where diplomatic animals have been mistreated and neglected. For instance, Kaavan who was once considered the world’s loneliest elephant was sent from Sri Lanka as a diplomatic animal to Pakistan in 1985. He was confined in an enclosure in the Islamabad Zoo together with a female elephant called Saheli. Saheli died in 2012 which deeply affected Kaavan who started showing signs of stress and aggression. As a result, the zookeepers kept him chained in isolation and poor living conditions. Kaavan was later rescued by a global campaign called ‘Free the Wild’ and the Islamabad High Court issued an order to immediately relocate Kaavan. Even though Kaavan was evidently suffering in the Islamabad Zoo from 2012 until he was relocated in a sanctuary in 2020, the government of Sri Lanka did not interfere with the situation since it is not appropriate as per the traditions and normative practice. On the other hand, as per the concept of Panda Diplomacy all the Pandas in the world are owned by China and they are given to other nations as loans. It not only protects the animals which are directly sent by China, but also any off-springs that are born. The research question is whether panda diplomacy can be utilised to develop an international framework to protect the diplomatic animals against cruelty and mistreatment, mandate both nations to take due care of the animal and ensure its physical and mental well-being. The research hypothesis is that the concept of panda diplomacy can be used as a framework to continue the duty and the responsibility of a country towards diplomatic animals, and even used as a mechanism to hold the countries liable if they have knowingly mistreated or neglected such diplomatic animals. Thereby, the research first discusses examples of how diplomatic animals are subject to cruelty and mistreatment and the necessity of imposing the duty of care on both nations which are involved in the diplomatic relations. The in-depth analysis of panda diplomacy is helpful in establishing a responsibility to ensure that such animals are protected with utmost care in their new locations. Thereby, the research suggests to implement an international convention to protect diplomatic animals and provides recommendations as to how to develop such an international legal obligation to prioritise the welfare of diplomatic animals without tarnishing the relations among nations

Maneesha Deckha, Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders (2021, University of Toronto Press)

n/

Animal Constitutionalism: Paving the Way for Animal Inclusion in the Belgian Constitution

An increasing number of countries decide to include animals in their Constitution. This animal constitutionalism movement is not unimportant since the Constitution is the pinnacle of the law, as a result of which the mere inclusion of a particular value in the Constitution indicates that society attaches considerable importance to this value. Belgian legislators have also considered the inclusion of animals in the Constitution for quite some time, and bills were introduced in the previous (2014-2019) and in the current (2019-2024) parliamentary term. This contribution will examine whether and how the inclusion of a provision on animal welfare in the Constitution would actually improve the position of animal welfare in Belgium. To this end, research was conducted into the animal welfare provision in the German Constitution (Article 20a) on the one hand and into the current legal framework governing animal welfare in Belgium on the other hand, with a particular emphasis on the case law from the Belgian Constitutional Court regarding animal welfare. Not only are the existing proposals (i.e. a Belgian animal welfare state objective and a socio-economic animal welfare right) to revise the Belgian Constitution examined, but two new avenues (i.e. a classic animal welfare right and fundamental animal rights) are also explored. All these results will be taken into account to make concrete recommendations for Belgian legislators

Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use

This paper focuses on coins with bicorporates – composite animals with one head and two bodies – a fascinating but rather neglected category of numismatic objects. The first known bicorporates appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals around the third millennium BC. They subsequently appeared in Aegean, Greek, Etruscan and Roman art as well as that of pre-Islamic Syria and Iran. In medieval Europe, they flourished in Romanesque churches in Southern Europe and Scandinavia, in particular Denmark. Furthermore, they also emerged in India, China and Southeast Asia. Bicorporates exist across a remarkably wide geographical and chronological range. However, art historians and archaeologists alike mostly disregard them. Only a few scholars have carried out serious research into bicorporates and then focussed almost exclusively on their presence in Romanesque sculpture. Nevertheless, they are almost ubiquitous in Eurasian visual culture. Bicorporates are also found on coins, even though these are extremely rare. This paper will explore how, when and where bicorporates emerged on coins, and – since this question is raised whenever bicorporates are the issue – discuss whether bicorporates really depict two bodies or one. Finally, the meaning and significance of bicorporates will be discussed in the context of different scholarly interpretations