Moving Away from Thinghood in Law: Animals as a New Legal Category?

The question of what legal status animals have has preoccupied the law for centuries. Most legal systems classify animals among objects and as “things”. This has far-reaching implications on how they can be treated. In particular, the question of commercialisation, i.e. (almost) unlimited use, is closely linked to the status of being a thing and thus, also property. In recent years, many European legal systems have taken the first, albeit still rather tentative, steps towards de-reification of animals. What they look like and what they mean in concrete terms, but also what they might mean in the future, is the subject of this article.