Latino countries are practically known for their gorgeous beaches, well preserved rainforests, and natural sights with surrounding wildlife. One country such took its goals toward preserving wildlife; Ecuador became the first country in the world to give legal rights to wild animals!
One month old Estrellita was taken from the wild and kept as a pet for 18 years! The ruling came after the tragic case of a woolly monkey named Estrellita, who at one month old was taken from the wild and kept as a pet for 18 years! In 2019, authorities seized and transferred her to a zoo, where she passed away a week later. The owner took legal action, and in December 2021, the court ruled that Estrellita and other wild animals do have rights, and that those rights were violated by both the original owner and the government.
In the end, the judges ruled that the legal status of animals should fall under the country’s constitutional rights of nature, noting that “wild species and their individuals have the right not to be hunted, fished, captured, collected, extracted, kept, retained, trafficked, traded or exchanged.”
Imagine a world where animals were free to live out their lives without fear of human harms like deforestation, land clearing or hunting.
Do you agree that all animals should have rights protected by law?
