Legal Measures to Upgrade the Status of Pets under the Thai Civil and Commercial Code

Abstract

This research article aimed to 1) study the status of pets according to the Civil and Commercial Code under the laws of Thailand; 2) compare between the status of pets under the Civil and Commercial Code in Thailand and those in other countries. At the same time, suggestions were made to improve the legal status of pets under the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand. This was a documentary research. The results of the research revealed that 1) in terms of the problems of pet condition, it was found that the status of the pet was just a property by law, not looking at the pet as a living thing and having feelings. This caused problems in protecting the rights and welfare of pets, for example, in the event of an infringement that caused the pet to die. If the court considered pets to be property, then emotional compensation cannot be awarded to pet owners. And in the event of a divorce, if the pet's status was merely property, the court will not primarily consider the pet's welfare. In addition to the aforementioned, sending to a pet may not be protected under the inheritance law; 2) the status of pets in Thailand and the laws in other countries were different. Foreign countries attached great importance to the status and protection of the rights of pets. Especially in the Swiss Confederation, the status of pets was clearly defined in the civil code. This had resulted in the change of the law in other chapters, but the problems in Thailand arose from the fact that the pets’ status was still a property, not being a living being and having feelings. Therefore, it was found that Thailand needed to amend the status of pets in the Civil and Commercial Code in terms of the definition of pets based on foreign law guidelines. This was to effectively protect the rights and welfare of pets.