Justice ordered the City to guarantee the well-being of the jaguar Tania and her breeding in the Ecopark

Tania and her puppies in El Impenetrable

A new step in favor of animal rights was taken by the Contentious Administrative and Tax Court No. 3 of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, in charge of Juan José Albornózby granting the precautionary measure requested by the constitutional lawyer Andrés Gil Domínguez in favor of the jaguar Tania and her calf, MP

“We are facing a clear violation of Tania’s rights, which suffers undignified captivity and its offspring is in danger of never being released“said the lawyer about the reason that led him to now embark on this case that could set another precedent in Argentine law. In that court presentation, he also argued that the conditions of the Ecopark They do not meet the minimum animal welfare standards.

This was what the Justice interpreted, which now orders the CABA government to take measures to ensure optimal conditions of health and well-being for these two animals, currently captive in the Palermo Ecopark, where the three-legged feline entered a state of advanced pregnancy during the first days of September, and later gave birth to the calf.

Tania

In July 2017, Tania reached the Iberá Wetlands and became the protagonist of two ambitious conservation projects for the species: that of Iberá National Parkwhich is recovering those big cats; and that of El Impenetrable National Parkwhere for the first time worldwide, reproductive crossbreeding between a wild animal and another in captivity was achieved. For that program, Tania gave birth to a total of six litters of puppies.

“Within the environmental issue, the protection of the yaguareté is discussed, but “This is the first time that the protection of a jaguar as a non-human animal and subject of law has been exclusively requested.”highlights the importance of the case he is carrying out.

Furthermore, emphasizing his request, he said that “Tania is in conditions of a life in semi-freedombecause he was born in captivity and because he lost a leg when he was young. But the calf, once it is prepared, can be released.”

Little Arami with her mother Tania and her sister Mbarete (Rewilding Argentina)
Little Arami with her mother Tania and her sister Mbarete (Rewilding )

“By issuing this precautionary measure, the judge acting ordered a series of measures to guarantee the maximum well-being of Tania and the offspring (MP) in terms of their health, in terms of habitat. Especially, with respect to MP, avoid all types of human habituation measures, called imprinting,” Gil Domínguez summarizes the meaning of the resolution made by the judge.

Likewise, he delves into the details: “The end of this is that at some point both Tania and the calf return either to the Iberá Wetlands or to the Impenetrable. Tania must do so to live in a regime of semi-freedom (due to her physical condition, she could not survive otherwise) and the calf, to the extent that its development allows, must be released.”

In accordance with this result, the constitutionalist adds what steps to follow: “What remains to be done now is to process the background process, “That the Government answers the lawsuit and that the substantive ruling is issued.”

For the lawyer, the expectations of this case having a happy ending “are very high.” “I think the city government has also understood with the death of the elephant Kuky that the Ecopark is far from being a place that can accept animals of these characteristics; and that Tania and her offspring only they have to be there in transit to return as quickly as possible to their natural habitat.”

Tania and her puppies in El Impenetrable
Tania and her puppies in El Impenetrable

Regarding the meaning of this advance regarding Animal Law in the Argentine Justice, he recognizes: “At the Animal Law level, This resolution is in some way a consequence of the orangutan case to Sandra (recognized as non-human personin 2014) It is a consolidation of the jurisprudence created and developed through Sandra’s case. Every time I see or have some result of these characteristics, for me they are Sandra’s sons and daughters. None of this would be possible if this case had not existed locally and globally.”

From the Dante Piesco Foundation, which works for MP to grow in the wild and for Tania to recover her state of semi-freedom, they also celebrated the judicial resolution: “I am hopeful that This measure is the starting point for conservation projects to stop having a utilitarian perspective. of animals and each individual is considered within the equation. There is no conservation of a species without a comprehensive view where each individual matters,” he stressed. Fernando Piescopresident of that wildlife protection entity.

This decision was based on the rights of animals in their capacity as “non-human persons”, and on the letter of article 41 of the National Constitution, which establishes the obligation of the State to promote the protection of the environment.

In an excerpt from resolution No. 139868/2024-0 of the Contentious Administrative and Tax Court No. 3 of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, it resolves: “To make room for the precautionary measure requested in favor of Tania and MP in the terms that follow and, consequently: order the GCBA to until the final judgment is handed down in the proceedings and while it is in charge of the ex situ conservation of Tania and her MP calf, their optimal health conditions and maximum well-being are guaranteed, as well as reasonably conducive measures in order to avoid human habituation [denominado improntación humana] of the MP breeding in order not to hinder their possibilities of release into their natural habitat.”

Tania with her puppies Arami and Mbarete (Rewilding Argentina)
Tania with her puppies Arami and Mbarete (Rewilding Argentina)

It also determines that the defendant must immediately inform the Court “about any fact or circumstance that may affect the health or well-being of Tania and the offspring”; to present to a competent authority and a professional with jurisdiction in the matter the relevant clinical data and indices of well-being of mother and child, “along with her medical history as well as detailed information on the feeding plan being carried out.”

The Government of the City of Buenos Aires has a period of thirty (30) days to have “a detailed report on the health status” of the jaguar and its offspringwhich must include “all the supporting and supporting documentation of the entry and origin of the animal; an evaluation based on the origin or inadmissibility of their referral or release, an evaluation on the destination.”

“In the case of origin of the derivation or release, it must detail the scope of the project, the implementation times and an expected schedule of progress,” it also requests.

Although there is no probable date for mother and son to leave the former zoo, this result is satisfactory because it suggests that they leave life in captivity.

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