THE QUANTIFICATION OF COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGE CAUSED TO COMPANION ANIMALS: CONSIDERING THE ANIMAL AS THE DIRECT VICTIM OF CIVIL LIABILITY

Franciskovic-Ingunza B.; Chocano Ravina E.J. · Revista Eletronica de Direito Processual (2026) · DOI: 10.12957/redp.2026.100627

Resumen

The growing integration of companion animals into the family sphere and the recognition of their status as sentient beings have generated new challenges for civil liability, particularly regarding the determination of compensation for damage caused to these animals. Nevertheless, compensation for non-pecuniary damage continues to be constructed, in most legal systems and judicial decisions, from a perspective centered on the suffering experienced by the owner or caregiver, without taking into account the harm suffered by the animal itself. This study aims to analyze whether the determination of compensation in civil liability cases involving damage to companion animals provides genuine protection to the animal or instead maintains a predominantly anthropocentric approach. To this end, the research adopts a qualitative methodology based on doctrinal, legislative, and jurisprudential analysis, with particular reference to the Peruvian legal system and comparative law. The findings show that, although case law has progressively recognized compensation for non-pecuniary damage arising from the injury or death of companion animals, such compensation continues to be primarily grounded in the emotional harm suffered by the caregiver, without attributing independent legal relevance to the harm endured by the animal as a sentient being. This article proposes that the assessment of compensation should be based on a twofold approach: the harm suffered by the animal as the direct victim of the harmful event and the damage experienced by its caregiver or protector as the indirect victim, thereby strengthening a model of civil protection that is more consistent with the contemporary evolution of Animal Law.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad de San Martín de Porres; Universidad de Lima