Conclusion

Abstract

This chapter comprises the Conclusion. The Open Society and Its Animals calls for a revaluation of classic liberal democratic principles and for their non-discriminatory application. The focus on individuals and their interests that is so characteristic of liberal democracies is a highly suitable foundation on which to build a political-legal status for sentient non-human animals. While the book normatively argues for legal animal rights, it also values care being taken when it comes to reform, and resists recklessly diving into revolutionary projects that may risk it all. Instead, it suggests that introducing constitutional state objectives in liberal democracies is an appropriate first step in the direction of giving animals their political-legal due. Because of their dynamic character and progressive demands, constitutional state objectives on animal welfare seem an attractive option of guiding liberal democracies gradually into a more animal-friendly future and preparing them for fundamental legal animal rights. The book maintains that, normatively speaking, it is only fundamental legal animal rights that can ultimately make liberal democracies live up to their full potential of being the most ingenious interest-weighing mechanisms in the history of animalkind.