The Entrance of Animal Beings in the Italian Constitution. The Still Incomplete Path of Animal Subjectivity

Frequently, legal discussions on crucial questions greatly benefit of intuitions and findings deriving from other sciences. The attribution of moral value to non-human animal beings is the gradual achievement of a millennial evolution occurred within the Western philosophical thought. After the Second World War, the entry into force of the Italian Constitution seemed not to affect substantially the domestic legal approach towards animal rights. The principle of equality did not trigger a rapid and radical transformation to a more biocentric legal paradigm. In 2022, a major constitutional amendment on the protection of animal rights happened. Despite its expressed provision in the Treaty of Lisbon, no reference to animal sensitivity was made in the Italian Constitution. However, it was established that animal protection shall be regulated by a specific parliamentary act. The effects of this constitutional reform are still widely unknown. Nonetheless, the recognition of animal beings as legal subjects appears to be a distant goal to reach in the Italian legal system.