The confiscation of the animals of Circus Portugal in Salvador, capital of Bahia state in Brazil, last June 12, was defined in an example of judicial report signed by Judge Ana Conceição Barbuda Sanches Guimarães Ferreira. The document represents a breakthrough in the judicial interpretation about mistreating against animals, pointing that they have their rights, and are not only objects.

We highlight some points of the report: “… there is a fake comprehension that non-human animals are beings with no spirituality, which generated for them a vision of inferiority and submission. (…). National Constitution and Civil Code present two judicial visions about the animals, which let no doubt that the State raises the animals to the condition of individuals with fundamental rights, like life and physical and psychological integrity. (…)”