How is the Law Protecting Animal Communities in Slovenia?

In this chapter, we will present animal law in Slovenia and analyse the state's attitude towards animal communities using examples. We will show the importance of the animal protection provisions in the Constitution, namely the case of the ritual slaughter of animals without prior stunning and the case of the annual culling of Slovenian bears despite the national and international protection of this species. In the second part, we will argue that the Slovenian Animal Protection Act is in some ways a hybrid model based on New welfarism, but containing some provisions that abolish the use of all animals (abolitionism). Although animals have long been regarded as objects that only have economic value or serve as a source of food and clothing, today we are increasingly realizing that animals are sentient beings with their own needs and interests. The question of whether contemporary ethical arguments are a sufficient basis for a reconceptualization of the legal status of animals is of crucial importance for the further development of animal ethics and animal law.