To Be or Not to Be Property: Community Attitudes towards the Legal Status of Animals

Abstract

This thesis explores community attitudes towards the legal status of animals as property. To measure the extent to which the community agrees with the legal categorisation of animals as property, empirical research was undertaken in a small sector of the Australian community. The results of this study indicate that the property status of at least some animals is not consistent with contemporary attitudes. This thesis concludes that to reflect variegated attitudes towards animals, a nuanced approach to the legal status of animals is required - one that allows for different types of animals to be categorised or treated differently.