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How is animal law broader than animal rights law?

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Three PETA protesters in animal masks and green clothing hold signs reading No Fur at a demonstration against fur in clothing at a shopping district in Seoul, South Korea. — Animal rights A PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) demonstration in Seoul, South Korea, against the use of animals for fur in clothing.

The field of animal law is broader than animal rights because it encompasses all legal frameworks that address the interests of nonhuman animals, as well as the interests of the people who own them.1

Historically, animals have been categorized as "legal things" rather than "legal persons," meaning they exist in the law primarily as objects over which humans may exercise property rights. Consequently, animal law often functions to protect these property interests or to uphold social morality through anticruelty statutes. While these laws provide indirect protections—such as regulations governing agriculture, biomedical research, and entertainment—they do not grant animals inherent legal rights.1

In contrast, the concept of animal rights advocates for the fundamental moral and legal standing of animals as beings with their own rights, rather than as mere objects of human utility. While animal rights movements seek radical changes to the status quo to ensure humane treatment, animal law remains a wider umbrella that includes the vast patchwork of existing welfare statutes, regardless of whether those laws recognize the animal as a legal person or simply as a protected piece of property.12