Peru-2024-Zorro-run-run-04921-2021-0-LP.pdf (411.04 KB)
IPALEMA filed a writ of Amparo that SERFOR and the city of Lima release the captured Andean fox, Run Run, from a zoo to a wildlife management area for reinsertion into the wild once rehabilitated, claiming that Run Run’s treatment violated the constitutional principle of the protection of animal welfare and the environment. The court discussed constitutional principles of wildlife preservation, “the obligation to respect” nature, and national character, as well as the importance of protecting fundamental constitutional rights, such as the right to a healthy environment. The court reasoned that animals, like humans, are sentient, thinking, and conscious beings, and should be respected and protected under the law. As such, Run Run was provided protection, rights, and autonomous guardianship as a “member of nature,” derived from the concept of rights of nature. This landmark case provides Peru’s first recognition of animals as subjects of autonomous rights and protection. Run Run was ordered to be reevaluated to determine whether he could be released back into the wild.