Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signed into law in late 2024 a series of key constitutional reforms to protect animal rights at the federal level. Due to the growing meat industry, Mexico didn’t have regulations that protected animals uniformly throughout the state, but now, at the urging of animal rights organizations Igualdad Animal Mexico, Humane Society International/Mexico (HSI/Mexico), and Movimiento Consciencia, nonhuman living beings have also been included in the Constitution.
What the are the reforms
The reforms amend three articles of the Mexican Constitution. The key one concerns Article 73th, which establishes who is to be in charge of animal welfare. From now on, it will no longer be local authorities, but the Federal State. Currently, in fact, there are only three Mexican states that include farmed animals among the animals to be protected, but much of the existing laws focus mainly on protecting human health.
Another article amended is the 4th, which prohibits the mistreatment of animals and orders the Mexican state to ensure their protection, proper treatment and care. An essential choice was also to amend Article 3rd, which concerns the school system. Animal welfare will, in fact, have to be included in school curricula for elementary and high school students.
Mexico’s animal laws
There are already many states in the world that have enacted laws against animal cruelty and mistreatment, including the U.S., but their greatest limitation is that farmed animals, such as cows, pigs and chickens, are excluded from any protection. Mexico can now reverse course because it has put an end to speciesism. This will most likely result in a backlash from the country’s large cattle ranches, which may put pressure on local governments. We will see, then, which reforms will become full-fledged laws and which will be truly effective.
