RECONCEPTUALIZING THE LEGAL STATUS OF ANIMALS IN INDIA: FROM WELFARE TO RIGHTS-A CONSTITUTIONAL AND JUDICIAL ANALYSIS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO STREET DOGS

RECONCEPTUALIZING THE LEGAL STATUS OF ANIMALS IN INDIA: FROM WELFARE TO RIGHTS-A CONSTITUTIONAL AND JUDICIAL ANALYSIS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO STREET DOGS Neha Singh Ranpuria, Research Scholar at Vikrant University Madhya Pradesh, (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2025.v03.228 The historical Indian legal regulation of animals has been based on a welfare-based model that considers animals as passive The historical Indian legal regulation of animals has been based on a welfare-based model that considers animals as passive subjects of human sympathy and not as entities that possess their own legal rights. But current constitutional and judicial events suggest a slow but steady change towards treating animals with dignity, intrinsic worth and limited legal status as sentient beings. The paper critically reviews the changing legal status of animals in India by performing a historical analysis of how animal welfare approach has been replaced by an emerging approach of rights-based approach, with particular reference to a case of street dogs as a focal point of constitutional and judicial debates.