The Reform of Article 9 of the Italian Constitution as an Implementation of the One Health Paradigm: Waiting for Animal Subjectivity

The chapter examines the position of animals with respect to Italian positive law, focusing particularly on the constitutional reform of Article 9 that took place in 2022. The study of animal rights appears particularly important in the context of the One Health approach, which represents an innovative way of thinking about and facing the challenges concerning global health and the protection of the planet. It is essentially a question of changing the paradigm, emphasizing the interconnection between human, animal and environmental health. The term ‘One Health’ describes a cooperative, intersectoral and coordinated method that has been refined over the years to respond to the devastating and massive changes to 4 which the planet is subjected due to human activity. In this context, the contribution of law also appears essential since rethinking the current relationship between human beings and the environment also means reformulating the legal provisions that deal with this relationship.