A Wolf’s Right to the Surface of the Earth. A Kantian Approach

The European Union recently changed the legal status of the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected”. In this paper, I advocate a different response to the problem that wolves prey on animals kept by humans: the further development of the European ecological network called Natura 2000. The central claim in the paper, based on a combination of animal rights theory and Kant’s philosophy of law, is that wolves have the right to be on Earth. In the past, humans have tried to eradicate wolves, which is a clear violation of this right. I argue that this historical injustice generates the duty to restore the habitats and natural infrastructure used by wolves, so that wolves can find natural prey and need not turn to livestock. A key question in the paper is whether there is room for animal rights within a Kantian theory of right. I answer this question affirmatively, based on new developments in animal rights theory and a new reading of Kant’s innate right to the surface of the Earth.