War and animals

The law that regulates armed conflict, international humanitarian law, offers few concrete regulations that expressly govern animals and how they are to be used and/or protected during armed conflict. Nonetheless, animals can be addressed indirectly through well-established IHL principles and provisions. This can occur in at least four ways: (1) as civilian objects, (2) as part of the natural environment, (3) as property, and (4) as medical transport when they are used in this manner. While many States expressly prohibit animal cruelty, no parallel prohibition exists under IHL, despite the inherently violent nature of armed conflict. Without a radical shift in how states think about animals during armed conflict, express regulations/protections are unlikely to develop.