The paper shows that animals have a dual status under EU law: as tradeable goods and as sentient beings which need protection form torture; they are “sentient merchandise”. This duality is manifest in the two-fold motivation of most animal-related EU legislation which seeks first of all to boost trade by levelling the playing field for agricultural operators through the harmonisation of welfare standards, and additionally to protect animals from torture-like suffering. Often, the two concerns point in different directions, and animal welfare is trade off. But both on the internal market and on the global market, the concerns for trade and for mitigating torture can be aligned under certain conditions. The legally recognised dual status of animals opens a window of opportunity for more animal-friendly interpretations of extant law, for new legal approaches (notably on the international realm) promoting animal welfare worldwide, and would even allow for a paradigm change in form of removing animals from the category of property and granting them dignity or a fundamental right to be free from torture.
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